BBD in WI!

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headgear
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby headgear » Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:43 pm

Awsome!!!!!!!


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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby Troutking » Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:24 pm

Great buck James!
The less you have the more you got so don't you cry for more--Widespread Panic
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby Arrowbender » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:13 pm

Yes !!
Exceptional weekend in WI.Image
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby Ack » Mon Oct 29, 2012 5:58 pm

Congrats on the great bucks guys! :clap:
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby Dabowhunter » Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:17 am

Congrats James!

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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby Boo » Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:32 am

WOW! Congrats!
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby Czabs » Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:35 am

Long tines! Congrats on a beaut!
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby Casper » Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:11 am

Congrats!
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby Crazinamatese » Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:37 am

Good job guys! :clap:
The cave you fear hides the treasure you seek!!!
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby xpauliber » Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:45 am

Awesome! Congrats man!
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James
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby James » Tue Oct 30, 2012 4:03 pm

Thanks again everyone, it was really a heck of a weekend. For a change it seems the bucks read the script! There are so many angles to the story of my hunt but since this is the beast and we all like to learn, I'll try to keep it focused on how/why I hunted where I did and a little on tracking and recovery since I had a little of that as well.

Part 1 - Making a game time decision

Friday night I headed off to a spot that would put me downwind of a known bedding spot. This location has produced bucks in the past, and for pre-rut with prime conditions it would be a great location to sit. I dropped off a trail camera over looking a scrape on the field edge as I headed in. I was going to setup below an old logging road, probably a little too close to the bedding, but a spot I had gotten away with a number of times. As I was quietly standing on the road looking for the right tree a yearling buck jumped out of his bed (probably watching me) and trotted 30 yards down the hill. Next another yearling noticed him and got up out of his bed and walked over. As I glassed them I got a disgusting feeling. Tonight, this was the nursery. I don't like hunting where the young'ins were bedding. So I backed out completely and went to another spot not far that might offer a mature buck in the bedding. This spot is hard to stomach because it's wide open, but I killed a nice buck on this end of the farm in 2009. In fact I sat the same tree because it just offered the best pinch point. I had a nice clean NW wind taking my scent right out to the corn field.

I saw a young buck fawn out in the corn early. I could not really shoot into the field, but I was close enough that I could glass it. This is pretty steep country and the deer like to use the contours to stay out of sight from the fields, especially the mature bucks until dark. I heard a little chasing on the opposite ridge and being this spot is wide open I like to rattle here. I think I did 2 sequences that evening, maybe spanned apart by 30-45 minutes. The buck I ended up shooting came in 15-20 minutes after a sequence so I cannot entirely attribute any calling to this one, but it certainly did not hurt things. First two doe came in and I could see my buck following right behind. He wasn't chasing or over eager about the does, but he was certainly checking them out. The does peeled off early from the trail and headed out into the corn. As bucks will want to do, he stayed in the woods and angled towards me. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to take him. In fact, all I had in my hands were my binocs. But as he closed the distance I quickly thought twice and grabbed my bow. Pretty soon he was on top of me and I decided to take him. The shot was a little above me on the ridge at 11 yards. The shot looked good, but I'll leave the shot/trailing story for part 2 below.

I was very pleased with my game time decision to leave "the nursery" and change up the plan to a second spot. I believe my bedding assumptions were spot on. Knowing the farm well from prior years and scouting played a big role in my ability to do this.

Here are a couple more pics. We had a lot of fun photographing these beasts!

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James
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby James » Tue Oct 30, 2012 4:38 pm

Part 2 - Shot and followup

The shot was a perfect broadside 11 yard chip-shot. The buck was moving a little and I am never a fan of stopping a deer that close, that doesn't need to be stopped. I anchored my pin in there and released. The shot sounded and looked great. My immediate reaction was that I was a little low and a hair back, but I know where I hit and I thought it was ok. The buck mule kicked and ran hard for 50 yards. He stopped looking back at me. His tail was twitching fast and I thought he was going to get tipsy and go down right in front of me. To my astonishment he walked away as if nothing happened. I could see a decent bloody spot on his side right where I had visualized the shot. He went over a ridge and I lost sight of him.

After a few text messages to friends I decided to get down and check the arrow. I had a feeling he may be bedded close as I should have been able to see him depart the area since it was so open. I figured he stayed laying down just over the ridge where I could not see him. The arrow was stuck in the ground and it looked awesome! No tallow or gut stink. It looked lethal.

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Still, I figured it would be better to leave him lay and grab Arrowbender to track since he was just on the other side of the farm. Halfway back to my truck my mind got the better of me and I figured that he had to be dead based on that arrow and where I thought he was hit. I turned around and decided to pick up the blood trail. I was more than a little dismayed when I jumped a deer in the point of woods I figured he would be bedded in. I really hoped that I had not jumped him. I got on the blood right away and it was fairly thick. I found good blood where I had watched him stand. Then it started to thin out a little. This area of the woods is wide open oaks, so I was scanning with my light all over figuring I would see him before even tracking him. He was nowhere to be seen and my blood trail was thinning. Not good. I decided at this point to back out. We would have 20 degree temps that evening and he would be fine overnight.

After a restless night of sleep and replaying the shot all over in my dreams, I headed out around 9:00am once the sun was good and high. I started on the blood trail where I had left off. It was difficult going almost right away and I was discouraged. I have tracked a lot of deer and this type of trail never seemed to end well. He appeared to be walking the entire time and never bedded. After a good 45 minutes I found the trail ending 10 yards out into the corn field with just drops at this point. I combed the edge looking for a spot of re-entry. Completely in the dumps I decided to check the trail camera I had set out the night before to see if by chance it took a photo. This is when I encountered Arrowbender coming over from his morning hunt in the corn field. I explained the situation to him and got a much needed boost from a fresh tracker. Mike is color blind and doesn't go off the blood as much as I do. He likes to visualize the path and skip ahead a bit faster. He surmised that this buck crossed the open field and headed for a point of thick timber. I was not as optimistic as he, but it was worth a look. At the point of woods, I started to check each trail entry for blood. On the second trail I checked I found a very small amount of blood on a corn husk. He had re-entered here. My hopes were a little back. As I tracked into the woods the blood really started to pick up. Just as I thought the blood seemed to start pouring out I saw brown and antler. Cloud 9, I had my buck!

The shot placement was exactly as I had visualized. Here is the entry:

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Here was the exit.

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Upon autopsy we found that my hit was just behind the diaphram. My arrow had not entered the thoracic cavity at all. It went through the liver and I believe what is the pancreas and out the other side. He covered almost 200 yards before reaching the corn field and then another 350 yards across the field and into the woods where he died. This was a very losable deer, but a very lethal hit. Morale of this story is to exhaust all options and always try to work with an experienced partner. I think the army of friends is a mistake but one or two trusted friends that have trailed many deer are a great help!
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Re: BBD in WI!

Unread postby matt1336 » Tue Oct 30, 2012 5:35 pm

Thanks for the great read James. I really enjoy reading about the hunting experiences you have. You certainly know what you're doing. I know I could learn a lot from spending some time in deer camp with you.

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