Going Blind!(Stories)

[PK_]

No, not literally.

I thought we could make an ongoing thread with collective stories of members 'going blind' into new areas (no post or preseason scouting done on foot) and getting close to good bucks. Whether you killed the buck or not, getting close to a big buck in his living room in an area you are unfamiliar with is a huge accomplishment. I am hoping for this thread to be instructional as well as anecdotal. Not looking for step by step of how to go in blind, but actual experiences of how you have done it in the past. So please include pics, maps and a description of what your plan was when entering that property/area and why. This includes any type of setups, rut/funnel/beds/still hunting/tracking etc...

I will add some of mine later on, but I don't have time to do the write up and mark up maps right now. So if anyone wants to get the ball rolling please feel free!

[MOBIGBUCKS]

In early November one year, I gained access to a new property in Kansas and studied maps of the 160 acres for several days before my trip. The property contained a deep uncrossable creek that had several splits. In addition, the property had large amounts of CRP cover but the western half is what I was most interested in because it was up on a hill and was isolated from country roads on that side. One country road ran down the south side of the property, but it was a classic KS farm equipment road that has no gravel (when these get wet you won't and cannot drive on the road). That particular November was really wet so I knew with the available cover, isolation as compared to neighboring properties, and the dominant wind directions for the time of year this area would hold what I traveled to Kansas to kill.

Looking at the map and wind directions for my three day hunt, I found a spot for my first day. Not knowing where the bedding was for certain, I decided to sit an observation stand for my first hunt. If I'm not familiar with an area, I always sit back and observe before charging in East of the CRP patch and Hill I found a point that stuck out into a small remote cornfield. Although this spot was lower than the probable bedding area, It provided me with a tremendous opportunity to glass most of the property where I was certain the biggest bucks would be bedded.

On the morning of my first hunt, I left the house around 1:45 am and drove the three hours to get to my hunting location. It was rainy that morning so I had to park a mile and half from my destination. When I got out of the truck I checked the wind direction and it was coming straight of the west. If there was a big buck using that CRP knob this would be the day he would be bedded up there. I waited until daylight before I left my truck with stand and sticks; I did this to prevent spooking my buck and make sure he was bedded before I got to my observation point. After the 1.5 walk and sneaking down the deep creek I made my way up to my tree that was positioned on the left side of this crop field finger. I was in the stand about 7:45 and had decided to remain there all day. The day was November 13 and the rut was going strong.

I stayed in that stand all day and only seen a handful of deer work there way across the cornfield. There were some small bucks and a doe here and there. As darkness approached, I kept glassing the CRP cover that was directly West of my position. On the edge of the CRP about 20 minutes before legal shooting time ended, I seen a buck from 260 yards away and could see the rack..I pulled up the Binoculars and yeah he was a monster. What could I do? I was sitting in an observation stand 260 yards away and had nothing to lose so I called to the buck with a grunt call. I grunted to him and I'll never forget how that buck locked up looking in my direction. The next thing I knew he broke and came my direction! I let him pass by at 32 yards and shot him quartering away at 32 yards. The buck bolted out in the middle of the cornfield and stopped staring back in my direction. I'll never forget pulling the binoculars up and watching him make his final fall to the earth. Just writing this gives me goose bumps thinking about how that hunt went down.

Seven hours later through the mud, muck, and an aggressive pack of coyotes I was able to get that buck back to the truck. My deer cart did not help me at all and I fought that pile of junk the whole way through the corn stubble, 9 foot tall CRP grass, ankle deep mud etc.

Obviously, I had some luck during this hunt, but it was the kind of luck I made happen. I never thought in a million years I would kill one on my first setup utilizing my observation stand. It was a gratifying hunt knowing that I pretty much predicted exactly where the big bucks on this property were bedding without ever stepping foot on the property. Had I not killed this buck on day 1, I would have made the move to edge of that CRP cover where I could see into that bucks bedding area. Maybe I would have killed him on day 2 or 3....who knows?

After season, I scouted the bedding area and found how my buck utilized the terrain and manipulated it to his advantage. I found a kill tree and decided I would come back the next season and see if there was another big buck that would take over this bedding area. In a tree 275 yards from where I shot the big buck the previous year, I encountered the biggest whitetail deer I have ever fired an arrow at...I'll never forget how I thought I saw a tree limb move when in fact it was the side of a massive 170 class buck. He appeared out of nowhere that morning and I'm guessing they were bedded in the 8 foot tall grass near my stand setup. She led him by my stand and I missed a textbook shot..It was a rollercoaster of emotions going from killing a huge buck the previous year to missing my biggest ever on a chip shot that year. I guess this is one of the reasons I love bowhunting these big bucks so much.

Going in blind can be done with the right information and situation

[Sweet Shot 7]

Nice read!!!

[Jackson Marsh]

In early November one year, I gained access to a new property in Kansas and studied maps of the 160 acres for several days before my trip. The property contained a deep uncrossable creek that had several splits. In addition, the property had large amounts of CRP cover but the western half is what I was most interested in because it was up on a hill and was isolated from country roads on that side. One country road ran down the south side of the property, but it was a classic KS farm equipment road that has no gravel (when these get wet you won't and cannot drive on the road). That particular November was really wet so I knew with the available cover, isolation as compared to neighboring properties, and the dominant wind directions for the time of year this area would hold what I traveled to Kansas to kill.

Looking at the map and wind directions for my three day hunt, I found a spot for my first day. Not knowing where the bedding was for certain, I decided to sit an observation stand for my first hunt. If I'm not familiar with an area, I always sit back and observe before charging in East of the CRP patch and Hill I found a point that stuck out into a small remote cornfield. Although this spot was lower than the probable bedding area, It provided me with a tremendous opportunity to glass most of the property where I was certain the biggest bucks would be bedded.

On the morning of my first hunt, I left the house around 1:45 am and drove the three hours to get to my hunting location. It was rainy that morning so I had to park a mile and half from my destination. When I got out of the truck I checked the wind direction and it was coming straight of the west. If there was a big buck using that CRP knob this would be the day he would be bedded up there. I waited until daylight before I left my truck with stand and sticks; I did this to prevent spooking my buck and make sure he was bedded before I got to my observation point. After the 1.5 walk and sneaking down the deep creek I made my way up to my tree that was positioned on the left side of this crop field finger. I was in the stand about 7:45 and had decided to remain there all day. The day was November 13 and the rut was going strong.

I stayed in that stand all day and only seen a handful of deer work there way across the cornfield. There were some small bucks and a doe here and there. As darkness approached, I kept glassing the CRP cover that was directly West of my position. On the edge of the CRP about 20 minutes before legal shooting time ended, I seen a buck from 260 yards away and could see the rack..I pulled up the Binoculars and yeah he was a monster. What could I do? I was sitting in an observation stand 260 yards away and had nothing to lose so I called to the buck with a grunt call. I grunted to him and I'll never forget how that buck locked up looking in my direction. The next thing I knew he broke and came my direction! I let him pass by at 32 yards and shot him quartering away at 32 yards. The buck bolted out in the middle of the cornfield and stopped staring back in my direction. I'll never forget pulling the binoculars up and watching him make his final fall to the earth. Just writing this gives me goose bumps thinking about how that hunt went down.

Seven hours later through the mud, muck, and an aggressive pack of coyotes I was able to get that buck back to the truck. My deer cart did not help me at all and I fought that pile of junk the whole way through the corn stubble, 9 foot tall CRP grass, ankle deep mud etc.

Obviously, I had some luck during this hunt, but it was the kind of luck I made happen. I never thought in a million years I would kill one on my first setup utilizing my observation stand. It was a gratifying hunt knowing that I pretty much predicted exactly where the big bucks on this property were bedding without ever stepping foot on the property. Had I not killed this buck on day 1, I would have made the move to edge of that CRP cover where I could see into that bucks bedding area. Maybe I would have killed him on day 2 or 3....who knows?

After season, I scouted the bedding area and found how my buck utilized the terrain and manipulated it to his advantage. I found a kill tree and decided I would come back the next season and see if there was another big buck that would take over this bedding area. In a tree 275 yards from where I shot the big buck the previous year, I encountered the biggest whitetail deer I have ever fired an arrow at...I'll never forget how I thought I saw a tree limb move when in fact it was the side of a massive 170 class buck. He appeared out of nowhere that morning and I'm guessing they were bedded in the 8 foot tall grass near my stand setup. She led him by my stand and I missed a textbook shot..It was a rollercoaster of emotions going from killing a huge buck the previous year to missing my biggest ever on a chip shot that year. I guess this is one of the reasons I love bowhunting these big bucks so much.

Going in blind can be done with the right information and situation

Great write up Mobigbucks! What a great experience! Any pics you are willing to share?

[ Post made via Android ]

[MOBIGBUCKS]

In early November one year, I gained access to a new property in Kansas and studied maps of the 160 acres for several days before my trip. The property contained a deep uncrossable creek that had several splits. In addition, the property had large amounts of CRP cover but the western half is what I was most interested in because it was up on a hill and was isolated from country roads on that side. One country road ran down the south side of the property, but it was a classic KS farm equipment road that has no gravel (when these get wet you won't and cannot drive on the road). That particular November was really wet so I knew with the available cover, isolation as compared to neighboring properties, and the dominant wind directions for the time of year this area would hold what I traveled to Kansas to kill.

Looking at the map and wind directions for my three day hunt, I found a spot for my first day. Not knowing where the bedding was for certain, I decided to sit an observation stand for my first hunt. If I'm not familiar with an area, I always sit back and observe before charging in East of the CRP patch and Hill I found a point that stuck out into a small remote cornfield. Although this spot was lower than the probable bedding area, It provided me with a tremendous opportunity to glass most of the property where I was certain the biggest bucks would be bedded.

On the morning of my first hunt, I left the house around 1:45 am and drove the three hours to get to my hunting location. It was rainy that morning so I had to park a mile and half from my destination. When I got out of the truck I checked the wind direction and it was coming straight of the west. If there was a big buck using that CRP knob this would be the day he would be bedded up there. I waited until daylight before I left my truck with stand and sticks; I did this to prevent spooking my buck and make sure he was bedded before I got to my observation point. After the 1.5 walk and sneaking down the deep creek I made my way up to my tree that was positioned on the left side of this crop field finger. I was in the stand about 7:45 and had decided to remain there all day. The day was November 13 and the rut was going strong.

I stayed in that stand all day and only seen a handful of deer work there way across the cornfield. There were some small bucks and a doe here and there. As darkness approached, I kept glassing the CRP cover that was directly West of my position. On the edge of the CRP about 20 minutes before legal shooting time ended, I seen a buck from 260 yards away and could see the rack..I pulled up the Binoculars and yeah he was a monster. What could I do? I was sitting in an observation stand 260 yards away and had nothing to lose so I called to the buck with a grunt call. I grunted to him and I'll never forget how that buck locked up looking in my direction. The next thing I knew he broke and came my direction! I let him pass by at 32 yards and shot him quartering away at 32 yards. The buck bolted out in the middle of the cornfield and stopped staring back in my direction. I'll never forget pulling the binoculars up and watching him make his final fall to the earth. Just writing this gives me goose bumps thinking about how that hunt went down.

Seven hours later through the mud, muck, and an aggressive pack of coyotes I was able to get that buck back to the truck. My deer cart did not help me at all and I fought that pile of junk the whole way through the corn stubble, 9 foot tall CRP grass, ankle deep mud etc.

Obviously, I had some luck during this hunt, but it was the kind of luck I made happen. I never thought in a million years I would kill one on my first setup utilizing my observation stand. It was a gratifying hunt knowing that I pretty much predicted exactly where the big bucks on this property were bedding without ever stepping foot on the property. Had I not killed this buck on day 1, I would have made the move to edge of that CRP cover where I could see into that bucks bedding area. Maybe I would have killed him on day 2 or 3....who knows?

After season, I scouted the bedding area and found how my buck utilized the terrain and manipulated it to his advantage. I found a kill tree and decided I would come back the next season and see if there was another big buck that would take over this bedding area. In a tree 275 yards from where I shot the big buck the previous year, I encountered the biggest whitetail deer I have ever fired an arrow at...I'll never forget how I thought I saw a tree limb move when in fact it was the side of a massive 170 class buck. He appeared out of nowhere that morning and I'm guessing they were bedded in the 8 foot tall grass near my stand setup. She led him by my stand and I missed a textbook shot..It was a rollercoaster of emotions going from killing a huge buck the previous year to missing my biggest ever on a chip shot that year. I guess this is one of the reasons I love bowhunting these big bucks so much.

Going in blind can be done with the right information and situation

Great write up Mobigbucks! What a great experience! Any pics you are willing to share?

[ Post made via Android ]

Sure. You want pics of the buck I killed, his buck bedding area, etc?

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Here is the layout...It's another farmland buck example. SE Kansas.

Red circles are the buck bedding spots. Both Primary beds worn to the dirt. Buck I killed travel pattern is in red. The bigger one I missed is outlined in Brown. Notice how the two trails nearly meet from the buck I killed and the monster I missed. pretty much why my kill tree is there

Stands are outlined in yellow. The yellow trail is the low impact path I took to get to the observation stand. The same trail is followed when I get into the stand near the buck bedding. However, you have to cross open crop ground so you can't get into the stand early at all.

[Jackson Marsh]

Thanks Mobigbucks! Really helps a guy to learn/understand when a map is marked up so well.

[ Post made via Android ]

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Thanks Mobigbucks! Really helps a guy to learn/understand when a map is marked up so well.

[ Post made via Android ]

Anytime man!

[Crazinamatese]

Last September I ventured into unfamiliar public land with no prior scouting and got close to a decent basket rack buck and a mature doe on that day. I found a parallel trail running along a corn field and set up with a north wind. The trail looked pretty well used, and with the wind blowing my scent over the corn field, I knew I could set up on the downwind side of that trail and hopefully get an opportunity on a traveling deer. I didn't take any deer that day. I did pull back on the doe, but she was in some thick stuff 30 yards away and no way to get an arrow through that. The aerial pic I got off my weather radar, thats why there are spotter network tags on it. Anyways, not a big buck, he came down that parallel trail and so did the doe later on as they were heading into the corn field toward dark. I thought it was a successful hunt being able to set up like that and getting some close encounters. Here is what I experienced.


Video of the buck.
[bbvideo=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cb-gIhvp_U[/bbvideo]

[Ridgerunner7]

In early November one year, I gained access to a new property in Kansas and studied maps of the 160 acres for several days before my trip. The property contained a deep uncrossable creek that had several splits. In addition, the property had large amounts of CRP cover but the western half is what I was most interested in because it was up on a hill and was isolated from country roads on that side. One country road ran down the south side of the property, but it was a classic KS farm equipment road that has no gravel (when these get wet you won't and cannot drive on the road). That particular November was really wet so I knew with the available cover, isolation as compared to neighboring properties, and the dominant wind directions for the time of year this area would hold what I traveled to Kansas to kill.

Looking at the map and wind directions for my three day hunt, I found a spot for my first day. Not knowing where the bedding was for certain, I decided to sit an observation stand for my first hunt. If I'm not familiar with an area, I always sit back and observe before charging in East of the CRP patch and Hill I found a point that stuck out into a small remote cornfield. Although this spot was lower than the probable bedding area, It provided me with a tremendous opportunity to glass most of the property where I was certain the biggest bucks would be bedded.

On the morning of my first hunt, I left the house around 1:45 am and drove the three hours to get to my hunting location. It was rainy that morning so I had to park a mile and half from my destination. When I got out of the truck I checked the wind direction and it was coming straight of the west. If there was a big buck using that CRP knob this would be the day he would be bedded up there. I waited until daylight before I left my truck with stand and sticks; I did this to prevent spooking my buck and make sure he was bedded before I got to my observation point. After the 1.5 walk and sneaking down the deep creek I made my way up to my tree that was positioned on the left side of this crop field finger. I was in the stand about 7:45 and had decided to remain there all day. The day was November 13 and the rut was going strong.

I stayed in that stand all day and only seen a handful of deer work there way across the cornfield. There were some small bucks and a doe here and there. As darkness approached, I kept glassing the CRP cover that was directly West of my position. On the edge of the CRP about 20 minutes before legal shooting time ended, I seen a buck from 260 yards away and could see the rack..I pulled up the Binoculars and yeah he was a monster. What could I do? I was sitting in an observation stand 260 yards away and had nothing to lose so I called to the buck with a grunt call. I grunted to him and I'll never forget how that buck locked up looking in my direction. The next thing I knew he broke and came my direction! I let him pass by at 32 yards and shot him quartering away at 32 yards. The buck bolted out in the middle of the cornfield and stopped staring back in my direction. I'll never forget pulling the binoculars up and watching him make his final fall to the earth. Just writing this gives me goose bumps thinking about how that hunt went down.

Seven hours later through the mud, muck, and an aggressive pack of coyotes I was able to get that buck back to the truck. My deer cart did not help me at all and I fought that pile of junk the whole way through the corn stubble, 9 foot tall CRP grass, ankle deep mud etc.

Obviously, I had some luck during this hunt, but it was the kind of luck I made happen. I never thought in a million years I would kill one on my first setup utilizing my observation stand. It was a gratifying hunt knowing that I pretty much predicted exactly where the big bucks on this property were bedding without ever stepping foot on the property. Had I not killed this buck on day 1, I would have made the move to edge of that CRP cover where I could see into that bucks bedding area. Maybe I would have killed him on day 2 or 3....who knows?

After season, I scouted the bedding area and found how my buck utilized the terrain and manipulated it to his advantage. I found a kill tree and decided I would come back the next season and see if there was another big buck that would take over this bedding area. In a tree 275 yards from where I shot the big buck the previous year, I encountered the biggest whitetail deer I have ever fired an arrow at...I'll never forget how I thought I saw a tree limb move when in fact it was the side of a massive 170 class buck. He appeared out of nowhere that morning and I'm guessing they were bedded in the 8 foot tall grass near my stand setup. She led him by my stand and I missed a textbook shot..It was a rollercoaster of emotions going from killing a huge buck the previous year to missing my biggest ever on a chip shot that year. I guess this is one of the reasons I love bowhunting these big bucks so much.

Going in blind can be done with the right information and situation

Great Story

[Ridgerunner7]

Don't have a ton of time right now but I killed this buck going into an area blind. It was a private piece adjacent to another private piece we had permission to hunt. We had always avoided because other hunters used it regularly. We had previously scouted the OTHER piece the spring prior and had many trees prepped and ready to go. All of the prepped spots were rut spots (funnels, inside corners, travel routes, etc) and due to scheduling we were forced to go during the third week of October. It was still very warm and the deer weren't displaying any rutting behavior at all..in fact very few bucks at all were even seen.

After putting a full day and a half sit in our "regular spots" I quickly decided to start scouting for a new area. Wearing my tree saddle I set out to the other property we had permission on. It was midday and I was sneaking along side a CRP area adjacent to a oak ridge (acorns) and some good looking bedding. In the center of the CRP there was a clump of cattail like stems that stood about 10 foot high about the size of a 1000 sq foot home. I immediately though big buck bed as I stood 100 yards away. I walked a bit further to the corner of the CRP and just entered the woods. Again, inside the woods was a clump of tall cattail like stems about 75 yards away. Again, I thought "buck bedding". I set up on the inside corner hoping to catch either of these potentially bedded bucks heading to the oak ridge about 300-400 yards away on a straight feed pattern.

A few hours later I see a good buck with a goofy rack stand up out of the CRP cattail clump just as I suspected. He headed my way but passed just out of range. About an hour later another good P&Y buck came out of the other bed I was set up on. He came right down to me through the inside corner heading up to the oak ridge giving me a 5 yard shot.


This buck I shot on Halloween in 2006. I entered a woods just off a standing corn field. Not knowing the area at all I crept through the wet woods quietly. I didn't have a chance to cyber scout this area other than some paper overhead photos. There appeared to to a large wet swampy area in the center of this woods. I slowly stalked that way until things really started to thicken up. I was thinking one more step and it felt as though I would bump deer. I quietly set up. After seeing a few bucks and several does move by out of range I noticed they all passed by this osage orange tree about 100 yards away straight south of me. I packed up and relocated within shooting distance of the trails these deer were using. Around 1:00 PM this buck came from the swamp direction and ended up in my lap giving me a 10 yard shot. I hit back on the shot (liver) and watched him walk off and lay down 60 yards away. I sat for the next several hours and eventually saw another big mature deer sneaking by at 100 yards. Tagged out, I decided I'd work on my calling. I snort weased at the buck and he came in on a string! He had one of the biggest bodies I'd ever laid eyes on. He came in so close he actually stood where my blood arrow was laying and began sniffing it. Over the next 10 minutes he slowly trailed my buck. As he approached my downed buck I was shocked to see my buck's head snap up and look at the converging buck. For the next hour this new buck gored and attacked my buck. It was the biggest show of aggression I had ever seen. My buck made it to his feet several times only to get run over and gored by this big powerful train of an animal. As light faded my buck down at 60 yards was now pushed to over 200 yards and nearly out of sight. I really wasn't sure what to do. I feared if I got down and tried to scare the aggressor off, I'd bump both of them and never find my buck. I decided to back out and return in the morning. After a very tough track job with 3 guys we eventually found my buck, tucked up under a downed log trying to hide, over 3/4 of a mile away. He was mangled but he was mine. Still the most incredible hunt I have ever been on.


Not a giant, but a respectable 3 year old in possibly the worst area of Ohio (north). This area is incredibly wide open. The surrounding land holds almost no timber bigger than 5 acres in size. The rest is pancake flat crop fields. Very low deer density. You can drive in the summer evenings for an hour and not see a deer. Any who, I gained access on this farm because it gave me another state to hit and was within a couple hours of my home. This particular farm stood out to me as it had just an incredible funnel. I didn't know it at the time but the funnel connected two very thick bedding areas. On the morning of Nov 2 I snuck into the funnel and set up in the dark. I actually picked my tree out from the online areial photo. I accessed through the crop fields (which I try not to do usually in the mornings) but because of the really low deer density you can get away with it here. I set my tree saddle up and got settled in for an all day sit. Around 10 am this buck came sneaking through the funnel. He took the further trail away from my set up but I still made the shot at 41 yards.


I glassed this buck on public land for half of a summer. He was pretty consistent on his pattern. I was actually tipped off about this buck and decided to try locate him. A friend had seen him in a bean field and told me about it. He was hard to miss actually as his antlers were quite white. I set up on this buck on October 1 in the morning. Normally I wouldn't have done this but with it being public I knew there would be an army of guys out the first evening. I believe I had this buck pass under me in the darkness. I could see a nice rack but it was far too early to shoot. I watched him disappear into a briar thicket about 60 yards away. The next day I could hunt there due to wind was the morning of October 6. I hunted the same area, just relocated within shooting distance of the briar thicket, hoping to give me just enough time to get to legal shooting light so I could shoot. Again, some deer passed through in the darkness but I couldn't see. It was raining and very dark inside the timber. As light came the woods was quiet and empty. I sat for a while glassing the briar thicket when I saw a big white rack bedded inside of it about 70 yards way. I attempted a few soft grunts but he ignored it. I was really only able to hunt until 9:00 am that day but it was going to take an act of god to get me out of this tree. I sat all day and hopelessly watched the bedded buck. He stood two times to relieve himself, but other than that he never got a drink or ate anything. I was amazed and learned a lot about how these pressure bucks move so little from their beds. He was so disciplined! As light faded I was starting to think it wasn't going to happen when he got up from his bed and stretched. He stood motionless for 15 minutes surveying the area. I was so shaken up on this buck. I was hungry, tired, and really just wanted it to be all over with. Then, the buck takes a few steps in my direction browsing on the briar patch. Light is fading and he's still out of range. Again..he takes a few steps. Finally as the last few minutes of shooting light were dwindling he steps out of the briars at 28 yards. I let the arrow fly and hear it hit. He ran off like rocket and eventually died in a standing corn field on neighboring private land.

[ozzz]

Awesome, Ridgerunner

[Jackson Marsh]

Awesome, Ridgerunner

X2

[ Post made via Android ]

[muddy]

Many moons ago I called a farmer for buck info. He told me he'd been seeing a buck in a draw every day for a week as he checked the field for dryness to combine. He told me approx where the buck was and the wind was perfect for me to sneak in there that afternoon. This was pretty much a shot in the dark but I used the corn field as a screen, walked around the back side of it and got situated on the base of the draw where the buck was supposedly hanging out. I got in around 1 pm in early Oct so I had PLENTY of time to sit and bake in the 85 degree sun. Sure enough I saw that buck get up out of his bed 3x before he finally worked his way by me just before dark. I had somehow managed to get set up without spooking him and was about 125 yards from his bed. I arrowed him and we found him after a short blood trail. It was classic and also my first P&Y buck. It also changed my style of hunting forever.

[muddy]

Late season after the above buck I was sitting an open fence row observing distant fields. I saw a nice group of bucks coming out of a thick draw one evening really late and the next night went in totally blind, followed the trail back to an open area and whacked the biggest one as he came off his bed I'm guessing. His G3's were 13 inches long. Both brows, both G2s, a G5, and a drop tine were all broken off of him. The pic is deceptive, this buck was a porker.