tuff4x4 wrote:good job.
Curious how many times you hunted this area till you killed your buck? Did you stack the area like you mentioned previously? Date of kill?
Thanks for keeping us updated!
I hunted here countless times over the years. I killed my buck on probably my sixth sit on that property. I had sat around 30 times that year on several different properties. I had never sat in the same tree twice, and therefore my kill was in a first time sit. It was back in November when we were getting those awfully warm temperature days with high south winds. I planned out my week and hunted three of the four doe bedding areas leading up to that. I knew I would either run into him, or bounce does and bucks to the final(and best) bedding area next which I had planned to hunt because the wind was going to be consistent and perfect for it. I had quite a few encounters with good bucks, but I knew that with that hot weather (70 degrees at times) and south winds upcoming, he would be cruising in the shaded and wind suppressing pine rows at the northern end of a 5 acre CRP field that was the primary doe bedding area of the property. Six bucks before him read the script exactly and I passed on all six. All had their mouth open, checking the entire CRP field and exiting by my stand (running crosswind) before turning up wind to continue to the next area. I had taken a buddy out for one of his first hunts ever and two hours before the big guy stepped out, I heard a loud crack and a crash from my favorite spot on the property and got the emotional, shaky call of him telling me that he had just crushed an 8 pointer. I watched it skid to the ground only 100 yards downhill of me. We agreed to wait out the day and around 3:30 I saw a rack swinging through the CRP working toward me. He did it perfectly, but turned 60 yards away and through thick cover to chase off a small buck. I grunted and snort wheezed and he whipped around and came in on a dime. My wind was perfect, and my arrow sent home. November 7th was the day I'll never forget. Doubled up on bucks and created countless memories that I or my friend will absolutely never forget. It has been my dream to kill a great buck on public land and I turned down multiple opportunities to hunt extremely stacked private land so my first dandy would come beast style. I passed on over 50 bucks that year, but none compared to the one I ended up taking.
The intel that led me to getting this buck was learned from Dan, Joe Elsinger, and seazofcheeze (he commented on this thread about one of the areas likely being a doe bedding area). Dan taught me how bucks cruise during the rut and the importance of scouting. With that info, I found the correct spot and differentiated between doe and buck bedding areas. Countless info is attributed to Dan in this case. Joe Elsinger taught me to pattern areas and times of year rather than one buck specifically to boost your odds. I did this and learned (in conjunction to what seazofcheeze said) that many of the bedding areas on the property were doe bedding areas. The private land that went unhunted until the rut is where the big boys stayed for the majority of time until the pressure arrived on private. When the rut came, the extremely dense doe bedding drew the bucks in and I found where the best rut bedding locations were. Elsinger's commentary about where bucks are likely to be in high temperatures and winds guided me to the pines (the thickest, coolest, and best wind-suppressing cover for miles). I patterned where deer used the property given certain conditions and knew that the big boy's favorite rut bedding lied just a hundred yards from my stand and between us was the perfect line to wind countless doe beds. Seazofcheeze taught me something that I hadn't considered and at the time was a little too arrogant to accept. I didn't let my pride get in the way, and I scouted the property for hundreds of hours to come to the realization that while I saw great bucks on camera, it was an absolute rut hotspot and not necessarily their home year-round. All of this caused the stars to align more times than I've ever seen, and for me to have the most successful year of my life.
One week later, my best friend shot a 4 1/2 year old, unique, thick-racked beautiful buck in the same tree with the same conditions for his first buck ever. He had a very tough season, but his hard work paid off in a huge way. This season was the best yet. I passed on countless private land invites where booners had been taken nearly every 3 years, scouted and hunted for hundreds of hours each year, and passed on multiple bucks that would have been my new best, then finally killed what I consider a stud. The funny thing is, nothing made me happier than seeing my friend's smiles when they first laid eyes on their bucks. It brought a tear to my eye each time and does so now writing this response. My passion for outdoors is insanely strong, but my passion to share it with anyone -- especially those I know and love -- is infinitely stronger.
