Beast kill examples

[hunter10]

Awesome detail on those setups. Sure puts it all into perspective! Appreciate it

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[dan]

Great examples... Keep em coming!

[xpauliber]

Here's the setup that I used to kill my PA buck this year on October 8th. When I was driving to this spot I was bummed because I saw a truck parked (pink dot to the west) but from previous scouting, I found his pre-hung stand at the pink dot to the east. We had a steady west wind and his scent would be blowing DIRECTLY into the clearcut/bedding area where I was expecting the deer so I thought "there's no way any deer in that bedding area is going to go west tonight" and I used him hunting there to my advantage.

I saw a real nice buck a couple years ago at a stand location at the southern red dot. My original plan was to park at the north of the property and then walk south along the eastern (downwind side) hard edge of the clearcut until I got to the stand at the southern end. As soon as I got into the woods, I noticed some acorns on the ground and about 10 small rubs leading out of the clearcut and stopping right under the oak trees that were dropping. The wind was perfect for a hunt and I decided to see if a buck was making these rubs on his way to stage & feed on these acorns before waiting until dark to head west out into the open crop fields.

I picked out a tree at the green dot and I watched this buck work his way north in the clearcut and then he followed that rub line east and started feeding on acorns. I shot him at 31 yards at 6:18pm. I'm positive he walked directly downwind of the hunter that was posted up to the west of him but the buck didn't bolt out of the bedding area because that guy's stand wasn't deep enough into the clearcut. The buck simply avoided going that way. This is a perfect example of how crucial your entry route is to not tip off bucks before you've even gotten into your stand.

Pink = another hunters truck and stand location.
Orange = 5 year old clearcut making nasty thick bedding area. There's a hard edge to the eastern side of the clearcut that's open hardwoods. This is the edge I planned to walk down.
Red = My original planned route and stand location at the southern end.
Green = Route I took and found fresh rubs. Green dot is the stand location I decided to try.
Purple = Where I first saw buck walking north in clearcut and the route he took to where I shot him (purple dot).

[JusPassinThru]

Wow love going through all of these posts, they're so informative. I'm new to the site and the "beast" strategy so these are really helping me get a grasp. Does anyone else have anymore examples? I couldn't really go through the old ones since the photos were taken down. Thanks.

[swwave24]

These area great examples. It's interesting to see the variety of ways quality bucks can be killed before the rut. Been bow hunting for 4 years, I've learned so much the past year from examples from Dan's video series and examples like this. Great thread!

[Josh03]

This is one of those threads I'm constantly going back to. The ability to see the plan on the map while reading is exactly what I need in order to put it all together. Thank fellas, keep them coming.

[Brohunt or Die]

Thanks to everyone sharing those stories. Bummer to not have all the previous posts' photos up, but still great to visualize the stories. Buckeye, excellent detail, we here at Brohunt or Die would love to see more, and hopefully be able to contribute a 2017 Beast harvest!

-Brohunt or Die

[BradC36]

2016 Beast Kill

I figured for those of you diving into, or thinking of the Hill Country DVD and that style of hunting, this would be a good beast kill example of mine from the 2016 season.

Right before the hunting season started I was out glassing a field and saw a mature deer come out and feed at last light all by himself. The property I hunted has a ton of frontage on a road that goes up a very steep hill, with the field being right in the middle (as far as elevation is concerned). At the top of the field where I would access the hardwoods, there is a very long ridge running North to South, with a ravine to the West, and gradually slopes down into thick bedding cover and AG fields on the East.

I had one observation sit in the first week of October on a SE wind and watched that same buck come into the field again just after dark, from the Western side of the ridge I planned to hunt him from. You can see in the photo attached where I eventually found his beds, as there was a bunch of thick cover on that side of the ridge, in what was a mainly open hardwoods. On a SE wind, that would create a thermal wind tunnel in what was the primary bedding area, and gave him the necessary cover to scent check the top of the ridge and field without being seen.

Fast forward to October 26th, I had another SE wind and a cold front come in, so I moved in the hardwoods close to where I thought the buck was bedding, and hung a double set just on the side of the ridge, hoping to catch him scent checking for does that I knew bedded on the top of the ridge, or heading out to the field just before dark. I actually didn't bring a bow and let my girlfriend hunt that day (her first season of archery) in hopes of getting her on a good buck when the time was right. After being setup for about an hour, a pile of does worked the ridge into the field, and not 2 minutes afterwards I caught that buck out of the corner of my eye working down the side of the ridge exactly to where I thought he would. Unfortunately, my girlfriend never got a shot as he caught our wind before she was able to get spun around on him and get a shot off. For someone who had never had an encounter with a good buck in the woods before, it was pretty awesome getting to see her excitement. I'm not going to lie I had more buck fever FOR HER than I ever do myself.

After getting busted by that buck, I knew I had to let the area cool down. I punched my archery tag on a different buck November 1st, and had spent most of my time hunting other areas but never had another sighting or trail cam pic of that buck after that encounter. Gun season started November 15th and I hadn't heard of the deer being shot by any of the neighbors. I went back in and walked the Eastern side of the ridge during that next week and found a wide open scrape and a huge rub that was as hot as hot sign could be, between the bedding cover on the ridge and thick bedding cover to the East at the bottom near AG fields. I knew that I would have the right conditions to get back in there and hunt that a couple of days later (November 25th) so I went in with my 270 and setup on the ground along that ridge about 50 yards from the bedding cover. There was a W wind that day so I knew if he was in the area that would be as good as any.

I hadn't seen a deer until about 10am when 9 does walked the leeward side of the ridge about 20 yards above me. Within a minute that buck came busting out of that bedding cover on the trail of those does and I shot him at about 15 steps.

[stash59]

With hunting season upon us. Thought allot of you would enjoy these. Go back to page one and learn/relearn some stuff.

[Jeff G]

Add your 2017 examples!!!!

[Jonny]

First this thread needs a bump. Waaaayy too many deer killed this season, and lots of great beast kills

Here is mine from this year. Far from a "beast kill" but it shows more of how by looking at a successful hunt at a different angle, you can really improve your spot from one year to another.

After that season, I told myself I was done hunting the hardwoods for gun season, and needed to start hunting where I wouldn't see other people. I honestly didn't care about seeing deer at that point. And that is what led me to hunting the river bottoms. My dad and uncle used to hunt the area 20+ years ago and did very well, but eventually stopped seeing deer and left to find greener pastures. The one thing that they said that really interested me, was they very rarely saw other hunters in the bottom. So, last season, I set my climber on the opposite side of a creek that nobody in my family ever crossed to hunt, and saw more deer than ever before during gun season and shot a respectable 6 point 2.5 yo buck.


I was very happy with this buck, and it ended up being the only deer killed in my family/hunting group that year. But all off season, I kept asking myself if that buck was just a fluke and it was just my lucky day. Then I started to think about the spot, and remembered the group of does I saw opening day. I only got 2 glimpses of them, but enough to get an idea of where they were, and where they were heading to. So once I made my way up to the cabin, I started taking a couple hours on Sunday before heading home to scout the area I deep down, knew I needed to hunt. I took a lot of notes about the abundance of sign, and the terrain. I looked at why the does were traveling the way they did, and assumed they were pushed out from other hunters. They walked into a thicket I never really thought about before. The thicket didn't seem big enough to be a bedding area, but what it looked like to me, was it was more of a safe zone for the deer. Thick enough to hide for a bit and figure out where to go to survive.

Another note I made was the absurd terrain. Tons of gullies that could easily swallow up a deer and make them practically invisible to where I hunted last season. After 2 scouting trips down to that area, I picked a tree that would let me overlook the thicket, and at least be able to shoot anything that came out on my half of it. I also wanted to see if my buck last year was a fluke, so I made sure I could shoot back to the ridge I sat last year. That would be a very long shot for me, but doable. I posted about my scouting trips down there in my journal, and each time I walked down there, I saw something different

The real curveball came when I was tasked with finding a spot for the family friend Kenny. Great guy, would give me the shirt off his back if I needed it. But just not a good hunter, and really would be lost if he had to find a spot for himself. So the monday before gun season, I cut my last bow hunt of the year short by an hour to go scout the area north of me. I picked out 2 spots I could put him. One was on a point looking south, covering any deer moving north to south. However, the sign just didn't support having him sit there. The second spot, on paper and judging by sign was much better than the spot I wanted to hunt and picked for myself. However, due to access issues (he couldn't cross the creek with me), I stayed in my spot and put him in the "better spot". I also knew there was a good chance I would be able to see him from my tree, but he could cover the northern half of that thicket, and shoot deer I probably would never see.

Topos and aerials just don't show the spot like it is. The detail isn't there. So here is a quick sketch of where my dad, kenny (labeled buddy) and myself sat, and also shows where my dad and I sat compared to last year.

Green dash is the access routes, black dash is the paths taken by the deer I personally saw. X inside a O is where I shot my deer, I'll have more on that in a bit. Sorry for the crudity of the picture and drawing. I'm an engineer, not an architect



This spot is a very good gun spot. All I have to do is put the hours of stand time in, stay alert and ready, and I should see deer every year. Now this could all change with a single logging operation, or a huge cut in deer population, but I think I am set for gun hunting for awhile. I would like to cut out the 2nd stand, but would have a heck of a time covering the possible travel routes with only one guy.

So now onto the story of how my hunt played out.

Friday, November 17th.

Started the day out driving the truck down to milwaukee to attend my final exam. Had to give a presentation so I was all dressed up in a full suit to meet the requirements Ended up leaving milwaukee at 10, and after stopping at burger king for 12 cheeseburgers and 2 whoppers (lunch in the tree for my dad and I), 2 stops for gas, I got to the cabin at 2. Got everything unpacked, and loaded up two climbers for my dad and I. Was going to grab kenny and take him with so we could put up all 3 stands in one trip. I would carry my stand on my back, my dads in my arms, and pull a sled with warm heavy clothes for my dad and I. We always leave our heaviest clothes under our tree in garbage bags, less to carry in, and you don't get all sweaty during the mile walk. We came in the way kenny would access which saved him a lot of walking, but didn't do anything for me. Ended up not leaving the cabin until 3:30 due to a dog losing a fight with a porcupine. Had to put the dog in a full nelson so we could pull the 3 dozen quills out of her face and mouth. Somehow, we got all the stands up, clothes under the trees in bags, in 2 hours. Already a rough start to the season.

Saturday, November 18th: Opening Day

Up at 3:30, got my pack all set, coffee made, breakfast started. Ate and left to go hunting by 5:15. Made the trek out to the stand, crossed the creek, added a layer and put on the iwom. Climbed up and was set up just as the sun was peeking over my back shoulder. Sat all day, and saw zero deer. Heard maybe a dozen or so shots all day, and nothing remotely close to me. Enjoyed a nice whopper on stand and had a good view of the surrounding area


Lunch for the day


Looking NW. Can see the opposite side of the river bank in spots, and the thicket on the right half is all buckthorn. It's labeled on the drawing as the buckthorn island.


Facing back to the east towards my access route. The tree I bow hunted out of the previous weekend is in there as well.


Looking back to the south towards the marsh. I sat on the back ridge last season, and shot my buck on the little patch of higher ground on the right side of the picture.


Looking east. You can see the ridge in the back, and then the southern edge of thicket.


Looking ENE, best picture of the thicket I could get. Some trees blew down years ago that created an opening in the canopy, and it grew up thick and nasty.


Looking NE, this is the direction I first saw both deer walking through. Take note of the center of the picture


If you look really close, you see two trees that are better detailed in the picture. Look between them, and there is a speck of orange. You just found Kenny


Right in the yellow circle in case you couldn't find it before

Had a nice steak dinner to close out the day, and my group saw a total of zero deer for the day. Just not a good day in the woods.

Sunday, November 19th: Day 2

The river bottom I hunt is notorious in my family for having an awful day, and a great day. The great day historically is Sunday. Woke up at 2 instead and was more excited than normal to get out and hunt. I finished watching goodfellas from the previous night while having some coffee. Same routine as the day before, except we left about 15 minutes later, not a big deal to me anyways. Made the trek back out to my stand again, got all suited up and patiently sat there. Again like the day before, it was painfully slow. Plus a group of turkeys came in about 100 yards away from me and were constantly fighting so I couldn't hear myself think with all the ruckus. Was staring off into space, when a flash of movement to my left caught my eye. A lone doe was bounding out of the thicket full bore. I grabbed my gun and got the cross hairs on her but never clicked off the safety. Never got that kill switch on and had no desire to take the shot at a running deer. Sat back down disappointed I missed my chance. Knew I would be lucky to get one crack at a deer and didn't want to blow it. At about 1:20 I was playing with my stocking cap staring off towards the ridge I shot my buck the previous year, wondering if I made the right choice by moving. Was talking to myself (weird right?) and barely heard that twig snap. I slowly put my hat on, and turned my neck to see a doe slowly walking out of the thicket 50 yards away. I grabbed my gun and sat down (I shoot better sitting) and put the crosshairs right behind her front shoulder. She stopped broadside and had about 10' to walk to a wide open lane. I was staring through the scope for what felt like 10 minutes while she gazed off into space, when I realized I had an opening through the brush. Clicked the safety off, took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger. Never heard the gun go off. Look over at her, and she is on her side running in place. I knew she would die as I could see the blood on her shoulder, but didn't shoot because I didn't have a shot at the vitals without wrecking lots of meat. I kept the gun pointed at her in case she got up, but in 30 seconds she passed away right in front of me. Could actually see her from the stand and got a picture of it.



Hung the gun back up on the hook, and radioed my dad letting him know I got one. Asked if she ran off, and I said no she dropped in her tracks. Told him I wanted to wait until at least 2:30 to see if a buck was following her. He said he would get down and head over to help me gut her at 2:30 if he didn't hear anything from me. So I put my feet up and smiled knowing I finally got my first doe (Only took me 9 years ) and enjoyed a cold cheeseburger and some hot coffee. At 1:45 I was standing up and facing back towards the thicket when I caught some movement. Looked over and saw the fakest looking deer I have ever seen. Bright white around the eyes, and lo and behold, I could see antlers. I quickly grabbed my gun while he was staring at the doe laying in front of him. Sat down and put the crosshairs on him. Had to wait for him to turn, and eventually gave me a broadside shot, but was twisted around looking behind him. About 50 yards, and I squeezed the trigger. Saw him run off, jumping high in the air with his tail up, and immediately thought I missed. So I ejected the shell, dug into my pocket for another, dropped it into the barrel, gave it a shake so it would sit right, and closed the action (gotta love the single shot rifle). Somehow he stopped for me at 100 yards, broadside and I had a shot at him. Put the cross hairs right behind the shoulder, and squeezed the trigger again. Now he took off, tail down, crashing away from me. More typical of the other bucks I have shot with the gun.

I waited a second to see if I could hear him in the river since he ran off that way, and never heard splashing, so either he went down before he got to the river, or turned and traveled along the rivers edge until I couldn't hear him. Radioed my dad and told him what happened, and he said he would still come at 2:30. So here I sat, replaying the shots in my head at that buck. I knew it wasn't anything special rack wise, but I take pride in my shots and was honestly really worried about taking 2 bad shots. The first shot was through some brush, but he was starting to act weird and I rushed thinking he was going to bolt. And the 2nd shot was easily the farthest shot I have taken with my rifle in the last couple of years. Local range doesn't go that far.

Well after what seemed like 5 hours, I heard the typical log breaking, snapping every tree that signals my dad is walking around and coming towards me. He walks up to me, quickly give him a recap of what happened, and let him know where the buck was standing for the 2nd shot. Honestly, I can't remember where he was standing for the first shot, and couldn't an hour after taking it. I also tell him I wasn't confident in the 2 shots at the buck at all. Anyways he goes over to the doe and radios me "Well what would you go shoot a fawn for?", right away I'm ticked, thought I got my first doe. Never thought my dad would mess with me at that time . Then I direct him to where I shot the buck, and he couldn't find blood. Now I'm really worried, so he asks if the buck crossed the river, and I said no, I never heard splashing. So he says he is going to walk over to the river. 30 seconds later he radios me, and says to get down, undress and come over with a pair of gloves and my knife, and that the buck was by the river. Told me he would meet me by the doe first. Got her dressed (finally getting the hang of gutting deer) in about 10 minutes. Then walk over to find the buck laying on the beach. Dragged him back onto some grass and got him gutted up in 7-8 minutes. Really helped having my dad there for that.

Exactly how I found my buck. This is also the first blood we found from him. I have had awful luck getting blood trails with my gun, but man I sure drilled him twice. Just a picture perfect ending to my season.


I don't know if the highlight is getting a double on the day, or my dad giving me a high five, a hug and telling me he is proud of me. I'm thinking its the latter. Enjoying these moments with my dad is something I will always remember.

After I got them gutted, I went back to the tree, reorganized things, and packed up what I wanted to take out for the night. Got back out to the truck with my dad, drove back to the cabin to get the extraction gear, and found out that the big egos in camp took all the sleds and carts with them because heaven forbid they have to drive back to get a cart or sled. So we drove out to find one of the trucks with the cart and sled, took those, and stole some of his beer During this is when I posted in the live from the field thread about my double homicide. Might be my all time favorite post I have made

Got back to where Kenny would access his stand. The drag would be much easier this way, but nowhere near as easy as last year (county screwed that up for us). Took the cart down with the intent of moving the doe onto the ski trail, going back and getting the buck and humping him out to the truck, then coming back for the doe. It's a lot easier to cart deer in the dark on an established trail. Most of the area was too thick for both my dad and I to pull on the cart, so I pulled while he tried to keep buckthorn from wrecking my face and arms. Once we got the deer up on top, then we had the rest of my group show up to help drag about a half hour too late.

Packed them up in the truck and drove back to the cabin to get them processed. Sorry for the lack of pictures. For some reason my family is anal about getting everything done right now and not enjoying the moment. I did have 30 seconds to enjoy a beer with my dad though. Got back to the cabin and finally got some pictures. Wish I could have gotten a weight on the two deer. I initially thought they were both 2.5 yo deer. I'm guessing the doe to be around the 115-125lb dressed weight which would put her at 2.5 yo. The buck I am guessing closer to 150-160 which means he is either a huge 2.5 or a 3.5. My biggest buck had too much head gear to be a 1.5 and he was 125 dressed. My last buck was 125lbs as well. This guy was noticeably bigger when dragging. Notice the white face as well. I'm thinking he is a bigger 2.5 and not 3.5.

First picture. The smile doesn't show my excitement at this point. I was beat after humping those deer out. And these pictures were taken at 5:33, so under 4 hours from when I shot the buck. I was flying out of the woods with those deer. It's nice being young and dumb sometimes







The happy couple


The rack. He was an 8 point with one tine broken, another sheared off completely, and a slight bump for a brow. I'm calling it a 6 point, but the rack does not do this guy justice for the size of the body he has. Bigger body than my other two bucks from the same area, but much smaller rack.

So now for the mystery of the two shots. To cut it short, the first shot ended up being behind the bucks front right shoulder, and came out the left leg due to the twist he was doing. The 2nd shot was behind the bucks front left shoulder and came out perfectly on the other side. Ended up 10 ringing him twice No idea how he made it so far. He had nothing for a heart and very little lung left in him when I gutted him. Doe was a perfect heart shot.

Here is his front left shoulder

Now to look back at what I took away from this hunt.

First is the importance of a positive attitude. I saw 4 deer from the stand, and I would bet $100 2 were the same deer. Never once did I get mad and want to start walking around. All I did was tell myself my season could change in a second. And it did, twice. Just keep after it and keep your head up. It's amazing at how things can work out.

Second, is the importance of all day sits, at least at how I hunt. I know Dan has said the best way to shoot a mature buck for him is to drive, and I would totally agree. I would be lucky to shoot one hunting in a tree, and hunting how I do. Equipment matters. Preparation matters. Carry that extra weight of a sandwich or a thermos of coffee. It makes a difference in allowing you to capitalize on every second of your hunt. No food, coffee or water, and there is a chance I wouldn't be alert, or would be out of my tree at the moment of truth. You just gotta be ready for it.

Third is the self reflection something like this allows me. 2017 has been an awful hunting season for me. 3 deer in bow range, but always something stopping me from sealing the deal. But this hunt allowed me to realize something that really gives me a different outlook on myself as a hunter. I hunt because I love the pursuit. I love the feeling of putting my hand on antler or a fuzzy ear after getting my but kicked every weekend all season. There is no better feeling than success, and knowing how hard you worked for it. I also hunt for the meat. It killed me to watch the doe die. I hated it, but yet I could't pull the trigger because a second shot would've damaged meat, and wasted the life she lost for me. Maybe some day I will hold out for mature bucks and bigger deer, but as long as I get excited over shooting deer like this, and enjoy what I hunt and kill, I just can't justify changing things. I live for the rush of pulling that trigger, walking up on that buck and giving my dad a high five when I see my buck. I love putting the work in gutting and dragging my deer. I enjoy every second of it, and enjoy having jello legs the next 3 days.

Hunting is a way for me to challenge myself, push myself farther than I ever have, and allows me to enjoy my success and learn from my failures. 2017 could have easily been one of my worst hunting seasons, but all that changed in 20 minutes. Now it has been one of the best seasons of my career.

I do have to give a huge thanks to the Hunting Beast, Dan and the moderators. My approach to this hunt was based completely off tactics and ideas I learned here, and for that, I am forever grateful. Wasn't a textbook beast hunt, but a lot of the ideas here really allowed me to look at this spot differently, and see how deer were going to use it, before I ever saw them do it



I did not add this aerial to my kill post, but it shows my set up a bit better. Blue dots are the three stand locations we hunted this year. White arrows are directions deer traveled last year, purple is this year. Purple dash is just a guess based on sign and terrain. No idea at that point, couldn't see them.

The green "bedding" I think is more a situational bedding area. Not used regularly, but just there when the time calls for it. The northern bedding butts up against the river and is mostly buckthorn so any deer not escaping a hunter won't walk in it. If it stops in a shooting lane, its dead by my hand. Anything comes out of that bedding area between the stands and stops, its dead (both my doe and buck did just that).

This spot will keep producing as long as there are enough hunters pushing deer into the bottom. I might bowhunt it next year during the rut, but will have to scout it better, just cause its too open in a lot of areas to pinch them into range. Might sit in the actual bedding area to try it out for the rut. Better trails going through there that I can shoot and be within range.

[<DK>]

Alright Jonny, your buck has to be called "The Whopper"

[<DK>]

Maybe "BK" or "The King"

The King and his Queen!

[Jonny]

Alright Jonny, your buck has to be called "The Whopper"

I could make him into a lot of whoppers

[Rob loper]

Im hoping and praying all this good information my brothers of the beast forum and of course everything dan publishes and puts out there lol teaches me to learn all over again the correct way and effective way to kill mature bucks. At least see them too. Because too me if i see one it’s gratifying too me cause i know i slicked him and we all know how hard that is
Anyway from what i just stated im hoping and praying to have a story soon about a successful run in with a old wood savy swamp donkey