21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline Wed. Feb 23, 2022)

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21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline Wed. Feb 23, 2022)

Unread postby hunter_mike » Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:09 am

dan wrote:Start sharing your stories and pictures for the 2021-2022 Big Buck Contest HERE ~ IN THIS THREAD.

**** Please just post your buck stories and pics****
In other words, NO COMMENTS PLEASE!! They will be DELETED!


****As much as we love comments please save those for a different thread / post. That will make things much easier when we all come back here to go thru the posts for VOTING purposes later on****.


After the season, on a date not yet announced, we will invite the 500 club members of this site to vote on whom they feel should win the prizes.....

Voting will be based on the size of the buck, the hardness of the hunt, the hunters ethics, the weapon used, etc...

Please keep that in mind when telling your story. Although big bucks often win, in past years we have seen a young man whom shot a fork horn win, and a button buck shot by a foreigner who traveled all the way across the ocean to hunt our much celebrated whitetails.

So enter every buck you shoot if you like. If you shoot more than one and want to edit your story let me or a Mod know and we can help you with that. All buck deer legally taken are eligible regardless of species ( mule, whitetail, blacktail, etc. )

Good luck to everyone & Congratulations!!


Please remember this thread is for those who joined the contest at the beginning of the season in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=59361


If you did not join the contest your story will be move and made into a separate post into the "kill zone" forum.

The essay thread will be closed Wednesday Morning - February 23, 2022 at which time the 500 club will begin voting on the essays.


“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”
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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby Garrett_Gomes » Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:58 am

Florida public swamp buck
It’s my second year hunting and i took my dads permit because he got drawn for somewhere else and I didn’t have a hunt that weekend. So with my dads permit I went hunting. I had no clue on where I was going to sit I had hardly scouted it and I only know what my dad has told me about the place. So on the first day I seen a little 6 point that I I let walk and I had regrets of doing it. So the next morning with little hope of seeing one I sit up on a edge of a swamp and 7 o’clock here he comes. My heart started racing and I started shaking. He was walking straight towards me and I didn’t want to risk the shot. He ends up getting right under my tree about to catch my wind so i pulled back and shot. I seen the whole I left which was a little far back. with the little experience I have I thought i smoked him. About 3-4 hours goes by and we finally search for him at this point my mom, dad, brother came to help me search for him. But we couldn’t find no more then a pin drop of blood. I was getting hopeless, I began to think he didn’t crash like I thought I heard. My dad was coming to gather us up to call the search until I got the call my mom found blood. This little bit of blood my mom found gave us a big lead on where the deer could be me and my mom stayed back looking for more blood as my dad and my brother went into the knee deep swamp. 10 minutes later I hear a whistle from my dad I go running through this deep swamp to my dad and there he laid barely sticking out of the water my deer. I was so happy that I finally got to find him and the scary search was over.

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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby cagholson » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:55 am

On September 17th, I traveled about an hour from my house to hunt a popular piece of Missouri public land with several of my friends. I have hunted and scouted this area for a few years, but it is a large piece that receives a lot of pressure. For the past several years I have been marking hundreds of pins on Huntstand and systematically scouting through the property. I have seen several large bucks on the property in past years, but this was my first time hunting it for 2021.

On Friday morning, I jumped a really nice buck out scouting, and hunted him that night and the next morning. I never laid eyes on him again, but my friend Johnny saw a big 10 point in a crp field that morning. I pulled out my Huntstand app and saw that the wind was the same for that night. I had never hunted on this part of the property, but I had pinned several spots on the map and marked what I believed to be a large bedding area right where Johnny last saw the deer that morning. His intel was enough to make a game plan. This particular parking spot was already getting a lot of pressure, so I took that into account when figuring out where to set up. Some locals were chasing a couple big bucks in the area. The temperature had gotten up to 90 degrees that afternoon, so I took my time walking in just over half a mile. I sat up in the southeast corner of the crp field and Johnny was in the southwest corner. I originally planned to hunt more towards the middle of the field, but the wind was coming out of the east-south-east, and I wasn't quite sure where the deer would come out of the north treeline. There was a decent amount of fresh sign in the corner with a little water hole covered in tracks and some thicker cover. I did a hang and hunt in a tree a little larger than a softball, but it was the only decent tree with good shot windows out into the field. My setup was an Out on a Limb Hush stand and Shikar FXD sticks.

At about 6:45pm, I saw a really nice, young 14 point. None of his tines were over 6 or 7 inches, but I was going to shoot him. A few minutes later I saw the 10 point my friend had seen that morning, and he was a big, mature deer probably in the mid 150s. A few minutes after that, another big 14 point walked out with some crazy splits. I knew instantly that was the deer I wanted to shoot, but when he turned towards me, I was shocked at how narrow he was. The 3 deer got to about 110 yards, and I probably shook for at least 5 minutes straight. Not long after that, a young 8 point popped out about 80 yards north of me and walked over to them. The young 8 point and the two 14 points started walking into the wind headed right to where my buddy Johnny was sitting on the SW corner of the field. The old mature 10 point remained behind. Since it was starting to get a little late, I did a snort wheeze with my mouth, but I couldn't tell if he heard it. About 5 minutes later, however, he started walking my way and stopped to mill around about 80 yards away.

About that time, the other 3 bucks came running through the field. I initially thought Johnny had shot one of the deer, but I think they caught his wind. The 3 bucks met up with the 10pt and stopped running. It took a few minutes, but they calmed down and the little 8pt started walking down to my corner. I could not believe my luck, the bigger bucks were following him. Since I was in a tiny tree with little cover and the 8pt was about to catch my wind, I shot the 14pt at 40 yards in between the chest and the shoulder. He was quartering really hard to me, and the shot knocked him down so hard he almost didn't get back up. It hit the heart, lungs, liver, and broke the opposite back leg on the exit. The 10pt never got closer than about 55 yards, but I had my heart set on the tall 14pt because of how cool his rack was. The other young 14pt was probably low to mid 140s and had a wall of 6" tines on side. I had never had 3 deer that big in front of me at the same time before, and I sat there shaking and in shock for a good 5 minutes after the shot.

I shot him at about 7:20pm, and with only about 20 minutes of legal shooting left, I spent until dark regaining my bearings and packing up my stand and sticks. I didn't have a light or my deer cart, so I walked back to the vehicle to meet up with my friends. We got back to the spot about an hour later, and found the arrow covered in blood. He had only gone about 30 yards from where I shot him. This was one of the best hunts of my entire life. I usually walk a lot further and don't set up on a field edge, but with the intel from that morning and all my pins on Huntstand, I knew this was the right spot for the wind.

This is my fifth nice public land buck and second best bow kill. I green scored my buck at 156 4/8" gross, which is crazy considering he only has an 11" spread.
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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby Stub1 » Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:44 pm

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ent=1]IMG_20211017_205909.jpg[/attachment]. South Dakota public land spot and stalk. It was October 16 and It was my 25th hunt of the season. I was hunting a waterfowl production area in the East part of the state. I have only been bow hunting for 4 years now and to say I have been bitten by the big is an understatement.So just like many of the days before I snuck out early to head hunting.Scouting my way in I was walking a creek bottom that feeds right into the lake when I ran into a doe with a fawn so I just layed back for 10 minutes to let them clear out. Once they cleared out I got back in the creek that was only 10-12" deep and started creeping in deeper when this very buck rounded a bend in the creek and busted me standing in the middle of the creek 80yards away. All I could do is freeze and not make a move, several times the buck acted like he was taking a drink but would jerk his head back up to try and catch movement. Forgot to mention I had a guillie suit with a face mask on so that saved me big time! eventually the buck just flickered his tail and walked back around the bend so I headed into the tall grass and snuck up to the bend which sounded really loud to me but didn't want to get caught in the creek again. Once I finally made it to where I thought he might be I slowly started standing up till I could see the tips of his antlers and he was at 30yrds. So I pulled back and slowly stood up and shot hitting him perfect,but the arrow only penetrated 6-8 inches so must have hit some grass? All I know was I had to leave him till morning. Next morning me and a good buddy went in and after 3 hours of crawling on hands and knees at times looking for pin drops of blood we finally found my buck 650 yards from where I shot him! Was a single lung shot and still had the arrow in him. I have spent countless hours spring scouting and trying to figure out ground hunting this season so I am very happy with how this season has went this far.
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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby AC Rider » Wed Nov 03, 2021 1:54 pm

Not sure how to post a pic now that Photobucket is pay to use...

Anyway, two scouting trips to ND - one in April and the other the last week in September - proved that it just may be worth my first hunt in the state. I placed trail cams and got a few good buck pics on scrapes.

The first day of my hunt was October 24 and I was into deer every day. North Dakota really is a sleeper state and my home area of Northern Minnesota pales in comparison. After jumping around from one PLOTS property to the next, I pretty much settled on one large section where I'd gotten pics of a couple of shooters. One shooter, a decent 8 point, was mature and showing on camera so I began making moves on him. After a couple of days, and a sighting or two, I moved into a spot between two bedding areas that I'd seen several deer move through.

While there, a brand new buck that I'd never laid eyes on, showed on the edge of thick cover and stood for almost five minutes only 74 yards away. I assumed he'd just gotten out of his bed. With the video camera rolling, I fired off a couple of grunts at the buck - especially when I thought his attention may be drawn to deer behind him. I wanted him to move my way when he shifted positions. My plan worked!

The big 8 point succumbed to curiosity and started moving my way. At 18 yards, I fired at the quartering-to deer hitting him a bit high and further back than I would have liked. Upon later reviewing the video, I saw that my arrow had actually hit a small limb close to my bow. This may have altered the impact but I'll never know. The buck busted off southbound.

I sneaked out of my stand and began looping around the bucks exit route as to not push him if he had bedded down. While doing so I came across my arrow/lighted nock about 150 yards from the shot.

The next morning my buddy Jeff and I took up the trail at the point I'd found the arrow. With no blood to be found, we began a grid search and stumbled across my buck who had died in his bed many hours earlier.

A true trophy and an awesome hunting experience! I posted the video in The Kill Zone.

Good luck hunters.
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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby AC Rider » Thu Nov 04, 2021 5:13 am

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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby Bad_News » Sat Nov 06, 2021 2:52 am

It could happen any second..

I said to myself watching the light fade overlooking the brushy corner of public land where I had shot my first bow buck ever the previous year. Once darkness fell and no deer materialized, I began reflecting while breaking down the setup. The 2020 deer season was successful for me, but it almost ended too quickly. I had just moved into my first home in late August and planned to do most of my scouting the nearby public land during season. Well, my first scouting foray I saw a buck crossing the road when I turned the headlights on in my car and was pulling out of the parking area. The very next evening I set up where he was coming from and lo and behold out he came. I sealed the deal and was already excited for the 2021 season.

Over the next year I spent a ton of time on the 1000’s of acres of public land in the Pocono Mountains scouting, marking locations, presetting loops to be used for DRT climbing and generally learning the land. I was ready.

The run and gun tactics I learned from the hunting beast himself had me fired up to hunt as much as I could. I had made 13 “sits” through October and had seen 4 total deer. No legal bucks at all. I tried to not let the results effect the effort. I was beginning to doubt my skill, the quality of the land, my scent control regimen, my scouting ability, and other aspects of my hunting technique. I was spending the most time I’ve ever spent in the pursuit of a nice bow buck as well as the practice and preparation associated with bow hunting. I was having the least amount of luck I could remember. I was attributing the lack of deer to the weeks of unusually warm 60–70-degree weather we had been having throughout most of October.

Halloween weekend arrived and with it the first Nor’ Easter of the season. A glance at the forecast Friday showed heavy rain Friday through early Saturday morning tapering off throughout the day Saturday. I wouldn’t let a little rain deter me besides it’ll be done by daylight I thought. When the alarm rang at 4:30am I poured a cup of coffee and stood at the screen door watching it rain and blow something fierce, but I was already up many thoughts were crossing my mind “quitters never win”, “the rut might be starting”, “I can’t shoot a big buck from under the covers”, “it could happen any second”.

I was the only car in the parking area when I arrived, and I sat there listening to the wind blow. It was a strong swirling wind and coming from a much less than ideal direction but “it could happen any second”. I got to my tree, ascended using the DRT method and positioned myself in my saddle facing into the wind. I was 15 feet up a scraggly cherry tree on the edge of a strip of tall mature red pines running through scrub oak thickets. As the rain increased, I discovered my rain jacket was less than watertight and was merely slowing the wet down. I could feel the cold damp soaking through the multiple layers I had on and I was shivering before even gray light. I had already decided this wasn’t going to be an all-day sit, but I was here, and I was going to make the most if it.

At first light I surveyed the surroundings. There is a nice defined trail running past my tree that crosses the pine gap and into the thick scrub oak and brush on either side of the strip of pines. I can see up to 100 yards up and down the pine gap 180 degrees in front of me and only about 15 yards into the brush behind me. I’m hanging in my saddle with 10-20mph wind in my face and steady rain. I take off my glasses to attempt to clean the rain off and find it hard to do with no dry clothing left. I simply smeared the drops around some, but I could see… enough… “It could happen any second” I was in the process of thinking when “BAAAAAA” Buck grunt! Directly behind me! Close! And straight down wind.

Before I could even move my head to look in that direction the buck runs from behind me, under my tree and stops out in the pines between 25 and 30 yards based on trees I had ranged earlier. In one motion I attach my release, grab my bow of the hanger and draw. I couldn’t tell how many points it had, or how big it was, but I knew without a doubt it was a shooter. As my peep aligns with my eye “oh S#%t! rain on my glasses, can’t see my sight!”. With my bow at full draw and buck looking elsewhere I somehow manage to wipe my face on my sleeve enough to see. The buck spins to quartering away as I settle the pin and touch the release. I watch the lighted nock disappear and the buck is off. I follow him with my eyes 3 maybe 4 bounds before he’s gone, disappearing back into the brush behind me. I listen intently but the wind covered any sound of a crashing, dying buck. I was eager to get down and confirm that I had made a good shot. I knew I had hit him for sure. The angle he was standing and last sight of my lighted nock as it flew led me to believe I hit him farther back than intended but I hoped my 650-grain arrow with a single bevel fixed blade broadhead would perform as advertised and blow through the vitals even at the extreme angle. I was aiming at the back of his ribcage, and the angle he was standing would have meant the arrow would enter there and exit near the opposite front shoulder. If the shot was true.

Now the buck fever is settling in. I look at the time 7:12am. I wait till 7:45 to climb down and begin my search. The rain is steady and maybe even increasing as I begin to look. No blood. No hair. No Arrow. No clue. I call my girlfriend and tell her the mixed news “I shot the biggest buck I’ve ever seen, and I can’t find him.” Allie is eager and willing to round up our 2-year-old goldendoodle Finn and help with the search.

All told we walked 7 miles in circles around the area never finding any indication of a dead deer. Rain had washed any and all blood away. By 2pm the rain had stopped but I was nearing defeat. I had even looked up and asked my late pap for some help finding this animal. “Let’s make one more loop.” Allie says and I agree. We start close to my tree this time angling in the direction I had last saw the buck running. 40 yards in I hear “oh my god”. There he was. Down, dead within minutes of the shot. He was already cold and stiff, but there he was. A typical 10 point with some neat personality to his rack. My biggest buck and first buck from a saddle.

A quick autopsy confirmed that I had hit him farther back than intended. I hit him at the top of his left ham, roughly 3 inches to the right of where I was aiming due to the way he was standing. Could have been me, my nerves, could have been the rain or water hanging on the arrow, could have been the wind, could have been a combination of all the above. The arrow still penetrated up through the ham, through the liver, through the diaphragm, through a lung, and cut a hole out his right-side rib cage severing bone on the way out. The arrowhead was snapped off as I’m guessing it was protruding from his side as he ran through the brush. The remaining 18 inches of arrow remained inside the animal. My total arrow length is 28” so 10” was protruding from him as he ran. Pretty impressive penetration.

Biggest lesson learned here was that I should have gotten down more quickly to survey the scene before it was washed by the rain. Maybe I shouldn’t even have taken the shot. My dad says I shouldn’t be hunting bow in the rain. I was lucky, and it worked out, so I’ll take it. It definitely made me a believer in the high FOC, heavy arrow, fixed blade movement. I probably wouldn’t have taken the shot if not for watching countless videos of these setups slicing through moose and elk shoulders.

It’s an intense feeling and one I won’t soon forget. The immense relief when I finally laid eyes on him, the extreme pride in accomplishing the feat I had set out to, and bagging my biggest buck to top it all off. The second that it comes together makes all the other long hours, miles hiked, mosquito bites, wet feet, and early mornings worth it.

If you ever need any motivation when your alarm rings in the early hours. Just think… It could happen any second.
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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby Dewey » Sat Nov 06, 2021 3:55 am

10-23-21 Public Marsh Buck

It's been almost 5 years since I put a buck in the Kill Zone. Crazy how fast the seasons fly by. During that time I really upped my standards and decided anything under 140" was walking and I stuck to my guns. Last year in Iowa I was holding out for 150"+. Every one of those seasons I was passing on darn good bucks I had no business passing on and even saw a few well over my self imposed limit but as we all know things just always seem to go wrong on bigger bucks. It's uncanny how they can hold up just outside shot range or behind obstacles preventing a shot. Not to mention earlier on I wounded and never recovered a buck and completely missed another. It was a rough stretch. I even adjusted myself out of shooting range a few times last year and later that day had big bucks (over 150") walk under the exact tree I was just in earlier. Nothing worse than watching that totally helpless. :doh: Through all that I still kept a positive attitude. I was just happy to be in the game.

This year I entered the season with hopes of tagging a real big buck but was also re-evaluating my standards to make sure I was in line with what's really around. After running cams all summer I came to the conclusion there are a bunch great bucks around but nothing really huge showed up. I decided I might want to back off a little on my self imposed limits and keep an open mind on possibly taking a decent buck just to shake the rust off so to speak.

Opening day I had a tall tined 8 pt standing in front of me for 5 minutes begging me to kill him but even though I was at full draw I just couldn't hit the trigger. Dang what the heck is wrong with me? So much for my plan. I just couldn't stomach being done already on opening day. This was the buck I passed. Caught him on multiple cams all summer long.

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Saw a few other good bucks since then but no shot opportunities. With the rut fast approaching and much cooler weather I really felt energized so been hitting some real deep stuff I know well hoping to find un-pressured bucks before the rut gets them scattered all over.

Fast forward to Saturday I was feeling good about going in deep to an island I know well with great bedding on the north end. NW wind was perfect for what I wanted to do and temps in the upper 40's felt great. It just felt like a killing day. Jackson Marsh filled his tag this week and told me to kill one so he could help me get it out this weekend. I'm guessing he was getting stir crazy sitting around at home with no buck tag.That's all I needed to hear. I was gonna do my best to fulfill his request. It was game on. :lol:

I made the long trek out to the island and decided to pull one of my cams on the way and relocate it on my way out after hunting. I just climbed down from pulling the cam and heard crashing coming towards me. Didn't even have time to grab my bow and a 2 year old 8 pt came racing by at 10 yards with a fox chasing him in hot pursuit. What the heck is going on? I sure witness some crazy stuff sometimes. :lol:

After that excitement I made my way to my tree and set up with known bedding 70 yards north of me. This was my tree.

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Got my Beast stand all set up and just kicked back to relax waiting for prime time which was quite awhile away since I got out really early. Heard some deer skirting around the island in the cattails a few times mid afternoon and was worried that was going to be a problem later but was still encouraged by the two trails that paralleled past me with shots of 20 yards either way. I was confident at least one buck was going to be coming from bedding to the north.

Just before 5 pm I hear something off my right should and look to see a decent 8 pt. I knew if he moved another 30 yards he was gonna catch my wind and likely blow out the whole island in the process. I decided right then I wanted to kill this buck so came to full draw waiting for him to hit my shooting lane. Shot felt good but the Luminok looked to be low. The buck jumped and spun then took a few bounds back the way he came. I saw the arrow stuck in the ground and assumed a clean miss at 18 yards. How the heck did that happen? :doh:

Well like I said crazy things always seem to happen on my hunts. The bucks circled around a thicket and I could tell he was gonna come back around to my upwind side. This allowed me to quickly grab another arrow when he was shielded by the thick cover. (Thanks Joe for the Sparrow) I loaded up my next arrow and was amazed I was gonna get another shot at this buck. Couldn't believe this was seriously happening but quickly settled myself down. He worked his way past me as I came to full draw again and settled my pin on his vitals at 18 yards again. This time I drilled him and knew he was done. He slowly walked about 15 yards and then bedded down. Within minutes he was coughing and obviously struggling then let out one real long deep toned grunt and then all was quiet. First time I heard a deer do a death moan. Both of my bear did it but never heard it from a buck.

I watched it all right out in front of me and knew he was done so climbed down to check him out. The 8 pt ended up being a 10 pt. 8-)

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Since it was still pretty early I waited till the sun set to get some great pics. 8-)

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I went to retrieve my other arrow assuming it was a complete miss but then noticed some blood and tallow on the entire arrow. What just happened? :? I followed the path the buck took after the first shot and by golly there was a slight blood trail. Ran back to the buck and looked for another hole and noticed one that was about an inch above the bottom his chest obviously way low. I have no idea how that happened. Assuming I nicked a branch before impact as the shooting hole was small. That makes the entire sequence of events even crazier but I'll take that with some of the bad luck I had in recent years.

Jackson Marsh was already on his way racing towards me since I texted him the good news right after the shot. I packed up my gear and quickly headed back to the truck to meet him. We made the trek back and packed the buck out on a cool beautiful night. Couldn't ask for a better night for a marsh buck retrieval. It was a cold wet walk but that’s exactly how it should be in the marsh. We finally got out about 10 pm.

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Today I reviewed my trail cam pics and got a number of pictures of this buck. Pretty sure he was a homebody and bedding exactly where I set up for.

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In closing I'm tickled pink with this buck even though I had hopes for something much bigger. Like I said earlier sometimes you just gotta shake off the rust and make a great memory. This was a great one. I broke in my new Beast stand on a real Beast style hunt and got to share the retrieval with a fellow Beast. Doesn't get any better than that. 8-)
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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby BRoth82 » Mon Nov 22, 2021 1:09 pm

The hunt that might not have happened.

Back in March my father had a work related accident where he fell off a lift truck, he tried to break his fall (only 6') by sticking out his hand. He ended up breaking his wrist bones and pushing them up into his hand, he landed hard on his left hip and ended up breaking the off the ball.

He had surgery on both and questioned if he would be healthy enough to go on the hunt with me, I kept encouraging him to think positive and keep up with the rehab, if it meant that I would pack out any deer we shoot and do all the work I was more than happy to do that. As time went on his hip healed up and he was walking 2 miles 2x a day. His wrist was giving him issues and he could only grip about 15 pounds. He would bring a camp chair with and shooting sticks but he was cleared to go.

Anticipation was at an all time high as we loaded his truck the night before opener, the drive out is one of my favorite parts of the hunt. He tells stories of past hunts and we talk about adventures we've had together, then the conversations ends up leading to last years hunt and where we want to sit tomorrow morning.

Before long we pull into the parking area and make a plan that Dad is going to sit on the tree line and I'm heading to my honey hole. The honey hole is a spot about 1.8 miles from the truck in a back corner of the public where I have taken 7 deer in 3 years, they love crossing this corner but it's a very tight window so you have to anchor and deer on the spot so they don't jump the fence.

I set the alarm for 4:00am and tried to get some sleep, that's all but impossible when the excitement for opening morning is in your mind and you have serious concern that the way you Dad is snoring, you might not be able to hear anything in the morning.

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The alarm goes off and we get everything packed up, since the grass is usually waist to shoulder high I decide to pack in a 5' step ladder. At 4:45 we cross the gate and start our walk in, after going 50 yards or so it's very apparent that they grazed cattle out there this year as the grass was only up to your ankles. At this point I was really questioning me packing in a step ladder, but decided to push on. Before long we came up to the treeline, I made sure Dad was situated, wished him luck and continued on my way. Halfway to my spot I crossed a mowed path, with very tall grass on the other side. They had a temporary fence in there to keep the cattle out of the bottom, this was perfect for my location. I made it to my spot checked the wind and it was blowing true and from the best possible direction.

I got my ladder setup and climbed up to them top, it would be close to an hour and a half before legal shooting light. The sky was crystal clear and the stars were amazing, I love this time of day hearing the woods waking up, the sounds of coyotes howling, geese and ducks sounding off.

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Before long legal light was approaching, soon shooting light would be upon us and the first gun shots would welcome another opening morning. At first light I had a doe come out of the trees and enter the grass, I tried to get the gun on her but there were a few branches in the way. Soon after I noticed a doe bounding through the grass with a nice small buck chasing her, they would hop through the grass and then disappear and reappear. This made me appreciate the extra height of the ladder, it allowed me to see over and into some of the grass.

I caught movement from the direction that the buck and doe had come from, I could tell it was a buck and he was bird digging trying to pick up that does scent, as he weaved in and out of the tall grass I tried to get my scope on him, finally he stopped in a small opening. I aimed for a high shoulder shot and touched off, he just stood there and didn't move, I must have missed judged the yardage and aimed a little lower and touched off another shot. I lost sight of him at the shot, and didn't see him run off, so I got down and went over to where I thought he was standing, and nothing. I kept going that direction and finally 75 yards further found him, sure enough my second shot hit right where I was aiming and dropped him in his tracks.

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I called my Dad and told him BBD but to keep hunting, I gutted him out and put my ladder and pack by him so i could find him again in the grass. I went and sat next to a fence post to wait, half hour goes by and I see movement by my buck. Looking with my binos I see that it's a small buck, he walks right up to my buck and sniffs my stuff. I decided to pull out my phone and video him, I grunted twice and he headed my way. He got to 10 yards then went downwind, as soon as he hit my scent stream he took off.

After that encounter I decided to go and quarter up my buck, as I was quartering him my phone started vibrating. It was my Dad, as soon as I answered he said turn around and look behind you, when I did there were 3 does within 30 yards watching me, as soon as I turned though they took off.

Knowing my Dad and his hip condition I decided to take more of the meat, we were both set on getting it out in 1 trip. I put one hind quarter and a front shoulder in his pack and I took the rest of the meat, the head and my ladder. I helped Dad get his pack on and then tried to lift mine, but I only managed to lift it 6" off the ground, so on to plan "B" I sat on the ground and got the shoulder straps on, then rolled over to my hands and knees, then slowly stood up and got the hip belt on.

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We made it 100 yards or so before our first break, this place continued for the rest of the pack out and 2 hours later we arrived at the truck.

We would hunt 3 more days and fill 3 more tags before leaving to head home, we would see several nice bucks and I ended up finding a nice dead head as well. We're already planning for next year.

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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby PK_ » Fri Dec 31, 2021 1:07 am

A Christmas Miracle.

On Christmas Day, I got to experience something I didn’t think would ever happen to me. I have dreamt about this very thing since I could ever remember, since I first saw a picture of one.

I was scouting with a buddy the day before a hunt and at last light we saw a buck standing on the edge of a thicket. Not just any buck but a very special deer.
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Almost immediately we guess the buck is locked down with a doe we can’t see, because he knows we are there and he clearly doesn’t want to move. After watching him for several minutes he finally turns to head back in the thicket and we realize he is injured and limping.

We plan to head back first thing in the morning to relocate him. We find him at first light about 70 yards from where we last saw him and he bedded down. We kept the wind right, snuck up and jumped him.

My buddy was slightly in front of me so when the deer got up I yelled for him to kill it. He let a round of buckshot go and only nicked one of his antlers and his gun jammed. The deer stopped and looked back at us. I took a step forward and put a slug through his shoulders.

This is where things got a bit deflating. When we walked up to the deer it became very clear that this buck was near death. His ribs and hips were showing and we could then see that he had been hit by a car at some point. It made me sick to see the condition he was in. But he was still one of the most beautiful animals I have ever laid eyes on.

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I have photos to show how bad of shape he was in but I don’t want to share them because I want this deer to be seen for how beautiful he was and not for what he had become.

I don’t know if I did a good job with that write up but I am still in shock about it honestly. Like I said I have dreamt of a deer like this my entire life and to be able to get one in my home state on a piece of public that I have loved for a long time makes it really special.

After I killed the deer I learned there were a lot of guys that were after this deer. As happy and humbled as I am to be the lucky one who got him, I feel equally sad that the other guys no longer have the opportunity at him. But I am also glad he didn’t fully succumb to his injuries and end up rotting in the ground.

Dreams do come true. So never stop believing and most of all, never quit trying.
No Shortcuts. No Excuses. No Regrets.
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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby seazofcheeze » Fri Dec 31, 2021 3:47 am

I went out searching for an old muley buck
But on the second day of Seazon, I had a different sort of luck
My binos scanned a creek bottom flat
When they suddenly stopped, “I’ve never seen one like that”
It was a whitetail, not the muley I sought
“Look at the kickers, you can’t pass him!” I thought
He walked closer and closer as I knelt in the weeds
At 7 yards, I drew back my bow and the arrow was freed
The arrow flew true, I could see quite the gash
He didn’t make 100 yards before he would crash

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An errand for fools, stalking lope with a bow
I blew at least 30 stalks, I’ll have you know
But Beasts don’t quit, they keep grinding away
Even if I was headed out for an elk hunt this day
I spotted some goats and laughed at the thought
“Try again dummy, you’ll surely be caught”
Some distance was closed before a loud snort
Mission failed, it was time to abort
But then something happened, I didn’t quite expect
Two rutting bucks ran my way, and the first one I wrecked

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In June I received one golden ticket
Were the rumors true, a booner behind every tree and in every thicket?
An October recon mission turned up some great sign
I’d return to hunt again on October twenty-nine
The second day back, I stalked CRP with decoy deployed
I arrowed a nice buck, but hit high in the void
A few days later, the weather turned colder
Hunter pressure increased, I had to get bolder
I hiked in deep, well before light
Found my tree in the dark, the wind felt just right
I had action all morning, four bucks and ten does
When the fifth buck appeared, from my seat I arose
He stopped at a scrape, he sniffed and he scratched
I drew, aimed, and shot, he was quickly dispatched

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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby Jrdeerhuntr » Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:01 am

The Back Story

Growing up I only deer hunted with my dad on ground he could get permission to hunt. He told me the public was overcrowded and not worth hunting. By the time I was 17 I shot one buck with a rifle and doe with a shotgun behind my house. I had a bow and tried to archery hunt a few times but missed a doe on the only chance I ever had. I never got into deer hunting much and got very into waterfowl hunting. Fast forward 16 years, in 2018 my long time hunting partner was slowing down. She had retrieved thousands of birds and at the age of 10 it was showing. I knew I could run her very hard this year so I would have to pick and choose the hunts she went on. At the same time one my friends is a realtor and just listed an abandoned golf course in Twin City metro area. He talked to the owner I got the green light to archery hunt it. I bought a bow off craigslist some arrows, broadheads and a stand. I thought it would be a no brainer easy place to kill a deer. Early in the season there a few apple trees and I had a shot at doe. Missed at 5 yards, missed at 10 yards and then missed at 15 yards. Out of arrows I just watched them feed the rest of the night. After the apples were gone so were the deer. Looking at it now there was no cover for them after early season they moved on to neighboring park lands. The same time I was hunting the golf course I came across THP and sure enough they were in MN for the public challenge. The had two guys on the show representing called the Hunting Beast (if I only knew then). I was stunned to see them seeing deer on public land and when Joe killed the big one I saw it could be done. Funny part is if I knew how much work it would be to get where I am now which is maybe 5% of where Dan and Joe are, I might have never started. They made it look so easy. I closed out the 2018 year seeing one more doe on the golf course, I finally hunted some public land in December and found tracks and actually bumped a deer at 50 yards. I started spring scouting public in 2019 and found some potential spots. 2019 season comes and I am only hunting public this year. I struggled I didn’t see a deer for the first 6-8 hunts. Around mid October I finally set up in an observation spot and watch two small bucks come out check a scrape and spar. The next weekend I get winded by a forker at 20 yards. The first weekend in November I miss a forker at yards, later that day at 150 pm I have a what now I would say would be 115 inch 10 point come into 12 yards, perfect ¼ shot and I think the hit is awesome. His chin hit the ground he gets ups and runs. I waited a few hours and track decent blood for 300 yards, he never bedded. I had a dog come in the morning to help and we never really further the track. I found one more small spot of blood 600 yards from point of impact. I ran a camera in here the rest of the year and it turns out he made it through. I am guessing the shot was just low hitting bottom of one lung and clipping the opposite leg and that is why he fell. I was very dejected from this and hunted ome more time the rest of the year. Spring of 2020 I am more motivated to spring scout and find better places. It pays off, as this year in the early season I am seeing deer on almost every hunt, but never have a shot a decent buck. I find a new public piece in mid October, and I scouted it on a Saturday and sit on Sunday when a cold front is coming through. I watch 5 does come by me at 40 yards, just too far for me to shoot. At sundown I hear noise that sounds like a grunt but I am think I am hearing things. I hear it again and turn around to see a decent 8 point running and grunting in the direction the does went. I get ready as I think he is going to come right in front of me. He instead hits a parallel trail 25 yards to my left. I start mouth grunting at him to get him to stop and after 3rd one he stops in like the only opening I had. I touch off the shot hear a crack and he runs off with the arow in him. I give it a few hours and then track blood with a buddy again for 300 yards. I found half the arrow. After we lost blood I again have dog come and try to help recover, the tracker believes it as a high shoulder hit and we never found the deer. I again run a camera in the area and he shows up on it two weeks later looking no worse for the wear. I never did see him this year though. I hunt the rest of the year through rut even had a week off and did not see much. I blamed it on being 70 degrees. My buddy I put on a spot to try shot a small six, his 3rd ever sit. I sit that spot the next weekend and miss a small 8. No other shots were taken the rest of year and I don’t recall seeing a deer after mid November. At this point I question if I can ever get over the buck fever and really try to work on it for 2021. My buck fever is bad to the point I am getting shaky even on does. I practice all summer talking myself through the steps of my shooting routine and hope this helps for 2021. Spring comes and I do more spring scouting then ever before and actually feel like am starting to know what I am looking for. I stopped marking every rub I come across on ONX and really started pin pointing bedding areas. First sit of 2021 I am after a 130s ten my buddy missed the year prior in the same funnel he killed the 6 point from. I shined him in the summer and know he still around. Spring scouting had me believing he would be bedding in a certain spot. Opening evening I see two does and have small 6 point come walking under me right at closing, this 6 would do the exact same thing during rut 3 minutes after legal. I see 3 does on my 2nd hunt and on my 3rd hunt of the year I feel good about a secluded apple tree I found on public. The wind was good and with 45 minutes left I have doe feed in front of me as close as 10 yards for 10 minutes. I finally decide I need to take a deer as I have missed and clipped several now. I think watching her for so long helped calm nerves and I take my time taking the shot. I let her get broadside at 15 yards and make a good double lung shot. She went 50 yards and I watch her fall. Finally some success!! I keep hunting I encounter a basket 8 but he hangs up at 45-50 yards and I never got a shot. I tell myself I would have passed him, but I do not think so. I am still dreaming about the 130s ten. I end up killing another doe while scouting a new public piece, it was pretty much just luck. I kicked out a fork and a large doe out of swamp edge and hear another doe blow just ahead of me. I just stopped and froze after a few minutes 2 does and fawn run right in front of me at 30 yards. The trailing doe stopped when I bleated at her and I made a perfect heart shot. I was able to take my kids with to track and she made it 100 yards before expiring. This was fun as they have done a lot of spring scouting with me as well. This was Mid October and my rut vacation started at the end of the month. My rut hunt starts and I am after the 10. I sit in the first evening in the spot my buddy missed him the year before and see nothing, same with the next morning. I decide after the morning hunt to scout to see if I can find some sign. Sure enough I end up kicking him out of swamp edge at 40 yards and I see only the huge rack running away from me. I try a bump and dump on this spot the next 2 sits and see nothing. I do now know a bedding location for him though. I would continue to see nothing my whole vacation. I cannot figure out where all the deer have gone. I ended up scouting 2 afternoons and found some really good stuff but probably won’t be good again until next year. At the end of my vacation I do a morning sit in a spot I saw 3 does in early season. Just after sun up I have fork come right in and walk right under my tree and then circle to a scrape. He is broadside at 10 yards and even though I had my sights on that 10 he has me shaking so decide to shoot. This is the only regret I have from the season. I did not focus on the shot properly and felt as though it was a gimme. I let the arrow go and it hits him what I thought was in the offside shoulder, but going through vitals. He bounds away with the arrow sticking out. I get down and there is no blood. None I follow 60 yards where he ran and nothing. I go 50 more yards and nothing. For 3rd straight year I am calling a tracker. Shane Simpson was kind of enough to come out, but unfortunately I think the shot was too high an hit no mans land. We never found a speck of blood or my arrow. I grid searched the next morning again and again found nothing. I am really mad at myself for not focusing on the shot. Unlike the previous years I feel like it isn’t over at this point. I hunt the opening of gun season on public and watch a guy on private shoot a buck 60 yards from me. It now hits me and I am feeling dejected again, not to mention it is 60 degrees in November.

First Doe

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Second Doe

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The Hunt

Decided to head for an archery only spot due to gun season and I missed the morning hunt due to my son’s hockey. I headed out at about 1pm and due to low morale and confidence I decided I would just go scout a new section of the land to see if there was anything going on. As soon as got to the edge of the woods where they meet the swamp there was a very fresh looking scrape. Being it was so close to the main path I figured this to be a night scrape. I started to scout further into the marsh and found what appeared to be very fresh trails and I worked my way south and found a nice looking spot where a pond would pinch their movement. I picked a tree here for a future morning sit as I suspected bedding to be back to the north a couple hundred yards. After marking that spot on my phone I decided to head back to the north to see if there was anymore sign. I got about halfway back to where I thought they would bed and found another very fresh scrape and it was big. At this point I figured I would be hunting tonight as everything was looking too good. I went back to the truck and got my stand and sticks. I ended up finding a tree 20 yards down wind of the scrape with trails all around it. I got set up by 2:30 and was just settling in when at 2:50 I heard crashing coming from the suspected bedding area. A large doe popped out 50 yards to my north. Right behind her was very large 8 point. She ran into the cattails and shatter cane behind me. I tried to grunt the big buck but he was having none of it. Then some mountain bikers went down a trail 40 yards from him and he retreated into the bedding. 5 minutes later another big buck, looked to be a 10 came from bedding and stood in the same area the 8 point. He also retreated back into the bedding. My wind may have been slightly blowing that direction but the doe moved closer to me and I saw her last movement which was 40 yards behind me and I think she bedded. The swamp was too tall to confirm but I stopped hearing movement. A smaller eight came from the bedding and entered the cattails where the doe did. I am kicking myself at this point for not going 30 more yards. I hear the smaller 8 moving in the cattails, he is hunting down this doe, just grunting up a storm. I listen and watch the cattail movement for 30 minutes and while this happening the big 8 comes back out to the edge and just looks. He retreated again as more bikers go by. I finally notice the smaller eight is closing in on where I last heard the doe move. They can only be 40 yards behind me but I cant see anything but moving cattails. All heck breaks loose as he finds her and starts chasing her. She finally pops out of the cattails 30 yards away and starts moving back toward the bedding area. The smaller eight is right behind her and comes out on a trail 20 yards from me. I draw and bleat at him to stop and he does but right behind a tuft of grass. He then walks 5 more feet and clears this tuft. I bleat again and he stops broadside. Somehow I have kept it together for the last 45 minutes and in this moment I really steadied the pin leveled the bubble and sent the arrow. The shot looks good and he mule kicks bounds 10 yards sideways stopped and kind of hunched. I reached for 2nd arrow and of course the broadhead is loose so I take it off the rest tighten it and put it back on. He still has not moved so I centered up the second shot and drill him right in the vital V. He goes 10 yards and I think he bedded down. I thought he was down for good. 15 minutes later I here rustling over there and he is back up and bucks a few times falling down again now in clear sight at 40 yards. I have one more arrow, but when I get the binos on him his headed is nodding and his tongue is out the side of his mouth. 2 minutes later he gets up one more time. Kicks again and moves 7 yards closer and falls over. I see him take one more breath and then his head is down.

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I have finally harvested my first bow buck and the feeling was remarkable. Everything that has happened prior to this moment is washed away. I would do it all over again in instant to relive the 2 hour hunt I had on November 7th 2021. I have even more motivation for next year. I will be scouting soon and feel like every year I am exponentially learning more and more. I hope that 10 made it through the season as feel I just now have pinned down his two main bedding areas. How I didn’t figure out sooner I don’t know, I just wasn’t there yet and chances are I will never get him but he give me motivation. 3 years of following the beast and taking wealth of knowledge from everyone and now I just am starting to figure things. I enjoy the journey as much as the result and that might be the biggest lesson I have taken away.

If you made it to the end of this congratulations and thank you for reading,
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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:11 am

Back to Basics…..


As the last minute of shooting light faded into the darkness on the last evening of the season. I hung my head and said never again. This is where my 2021 season started. I had made stupid mistakes, missed shots, and a few bone head moves. Was no surprise when I finished the 2020 season with the coveted tag soup. I made myself a promise on that final hunt of the year. While there is no such thing as guarantees in real world whitetail hunting. I promised myself that nobody is going to out work me this post season. And so it began…

I spent every second of free time I had in the woods all post season. I eliminated spots, found new spots, made old spots better etc… I also was researching/planning hunting trips at other public spots across the state. I took frequent trips to the woods throughout the spring and summer. By the time October rolled around I was ready, and confident!

Opening weekend I traveled 4 hrs across the state to an area known for high deer numbers. Plan was not to be very picky. Doe, young buck, old buck I didn’t care. I wanted to get my season going and put some high quality meat in the freezer. I had 4 days to get it done. I spent the first day scouting to make the most of my trip. I got myself into a good spot and was getting some action. Like often the case those little bucks just didn’t get me excited so I would pass. I bounced around for the next couple days before finally lining up on the sweet spot. I had a beauty of a 10 pt inside of 10 yards which was to good to pass. I zipped him through the goodies and got the season off to a good start.

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Ten days later I found myself on the road again in hot pursuit of Mr Whitetail in yet another part of the state. This was a really fun trip! I passed some good bucks early in the trip. Being that I already had a good buck down it made the decision to hold out for a dandy a easy decision. Had I not killed a buck on the first trip I’m pretty sure the bucks wouldn’t have been so lucky. As it turned out I never saw a serious biggen. But I have no regrets for passing and I managed to get two doe for the freezer. Had a great time and was well worth the trip.

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The day of November 14th will be a day I will never forget. On this day my little girl took her first deer. Hands down the highlight of my season. Watching the excitement on her face was priceless. Was a very special moment for me and a memory I will forever cherish. For you dads who haven’t yet got this opportunity you are in for a real treat!

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When November 18 came around I was ready to settle the score. Had not hunted in my home area yet but it was time to make my play. Time to make all that hard work pay off. Had spent so much time out there that I not only knew where to go but I also knew why. It didn’t take long to get my opportunity and this time around I made it count. Was not one of the particular bucks I planned for but he made me happy and I’m tickled I was able to get him.

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By far the best season of my life. In 12 months I went from the worst season ever to the very best. Some might say luck had a lot to do with it. I like to believe I worked really hard and made my own luck. It’s easy to get complacent after a few good years and believe you have this game all figured out. Then you have a season like I had in 2020 and it opens your eyes to just how lazy I had become. Bucks get smarter and more familiar with their woods with each passing day. My advice is you better do the same if you wanna stay in the game. Whitetail Wishes everyone.


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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby 1STRANGEWILDERNESS » Tue Feb 01, 2022 2:44 pm

Very early on in the season of 21 I had a large 130’s 8 pt at super close range on the ground. He pegged me instantly and I sat there thinking about the chess match that would ensue. I thought how cool would it be to catch up to him in late bow season. Right on or very near the birth of the newest member of our family.

I caught up to him several more times but never got a shot and on Nov 15 someone else caught up to him. They sealed the deal. That scratched my top target off the list. As firearm season wound down, I surprisingly one day found the biggest buck I’d ever personally known of to still be alive. I had lost track of him back in mid-late dec of 2019. It was a short 3 week history with him. He had showed up after a good snowfall around nov 23. 2020 there was never a sign of him and also not much snow. 2021 we got a decent splash of snow, not a lot maybe 6” but it was evidently enough. He was back. And in my eyes was a real tank. A 140’s class 8 pt. That’s the top of the spectrum around here easily :o


Dec 21st late bow season in UP of MI. Est last day of season for me would be dec 23 if the wife didn’t go into labor sooner.

A snowstorm was on its way and the temps were set to drop. I setup on a sliver of private land this deer was sliding through to get to some hay fields. Even spending some time feeding around the old cow pasture turned into 1 1-2 acres of corn though there wasn’t a ton of feed in there. This area typically in the heart of season it’s a dessert during daylight hours. But I held out hope. The 5 other hunters that pounded the area were all done hunting. I had removed my cameras from the area a week before everyone quit hunting. I was hoping this buck would be bedded nearby on a neighboring parcel. I wasn’t sure if the pressure had been of long enough but I knew this deer had to eat. He was very thin. Possibly a northern migratory deer.

So I sat in this tall spruce tree, towering over a bunch of small willows and scrub scotch pine. The snow started coming steady. I think about 4-5” came down and it was beautiful. No wind at all. Then out over the swamp I could see the force moving my way. When it hit my tree I had to grab onto some branches and brace myself. I’m not the type of guy that gets nervous in a tree. I was legitimately nervous and considered getting down. I wondered if anything would move in this kind of wind, if I could even shoot my bow accurately in it, and likely my very pregnant wife was back at the house out of power.

Nah, didn’t come this far to give up now.. The ice built up on my face and I burrowed into my heater body suit. (which I very nearly left behind because I had toughed out colder temps the morning before without it) I was very glad I had the extra warmth because drawing back my bow in that bone chilling environment would be rough without it.. the wind cut like a knife (I’ve had some blooper type moments in the past on cold cold bow hunts)
About a half hour or 20 minutes before dark 2 doe slowly made there way along. Eventually near my tree they poked around some corn stalks and 3 more baldies came to join them. Moments later the jumbo 8pt emerges and slowly trots out. Lowering his head at the does from say 20 yds off, they all scatter. He stood and surveyed the does it seemed. They hadn’t ran far (15-20 yds in various directions) he decided to check out a fawn doe about 45 yds away. She ran off and he messed with a corn stalk right near where she had been standing. Light was closing but I had no shot. Finally he started walking. Though it seemed bad all at once he looked toward me. There were 2 doe 15 yds from my tree and he was slowly coming their way. He held up 35 yds from the tree and started surveying all the does again. They were all just standing still locked on him. I shoot 35 yds very well but this was like shooting while standing in a rocking chair. But I had to do it. I nailed him.

I kind of freaked out when I found my arrow and blood trail. It did not look great. I had a hunch the below zero was messing with the blood flow. It was a long night and my mind went to dark places. Beast friends were a great support! I picked up the trail in the am and recovered him. He ran back right to where I suspected he bedded. Not to say he was always there but in the area a few weeks a year. It was cool to know that I was right the few yrs before when I scouted that. I couldn’t hunt that area but was allowed access as I know the folks fairly well. He was bedding another area across the road too as pressure had kicked him there initially. This I also suspected but I couldn’t cut his track. Turns out the deer did indeed have small feet. He in fact had been seen crossing the road just after dark.

I decided to drive him up town to have the dnr biologist age him. He turned out to be 6-1/2 yrs old. Which is what I was already claiming to folks :lol: I left the dnr and was driving uptown when my wife called and said you better get home. The baby is coming!

Essentially back in October that’s how I had drawn it up in my head. Maybe not that specific buck because I thought he was dead at that time but yeah grind it out, cold, late bow, big buck and then welcome baby to the world. A dream come true.

Aside from all that. I’m a very poor photographer. I am told repeatedly the pics don’t do it justice so I thought I’d mention that. For those into inches. My friend who is one of those Midwest traveling big bone seeking crazy bow hunters measured it at 145” flat.

Thanks for reading.
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Re: 21-22 Season - Big Buck Contest Essays (Deadline TBD ~Feb 2022)

Unread postby hcooper84 » Tue Feb 01, 2022 3:54 pm

Good Things Happen When The Cameras Not Running

I knocked down my first complete beast style buck this year and it was in what I’d consider the early season here in Illinois.

My hunting buddy and I bought a nice camcorder and began filming hunts this year. The first weekend we were able to go was him with the bow and myself filming. The second weekend October 16th, we both took our bows but I was in the drivers seat. It was a windy day with the temperature dropping, the wind provided us good cover to sneak towards a suspected bedding area. The main bedding area is a thicket of small trees, cedars, and grasses. As you worked out of this it transitioned to larger trees but with waist high grasses on the forest floor. With the wind as cover we were ready to dive into the bedding area. However at this transition we ran into a ton of deer sign. Further investigation showed that this small area was dropping a lot of acorns. We decided to hang up in this oak flat.

The evening went by a not a deer was spotted. With the last 15 minutes the wind began to die down. And like out of thin air this buck appeared at 30 yards. He was on a trail that I could see led about 8 yards in front of us. I let the cameraman know that a buck was coming and I was going to shoot him. He ended up right on that trail at 8 yards and I made a perfect quartering too shot. The buck ran 20 yards then tumbled down a hill. After the dust settled my buddy and cameraman informed he believed he forgot to turn on the camera. Sure enough he did.
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A couple weeks later I went an hour north to hunt with my dad for a few days. We were on a small private parcel that we had both had success on in the past. He was in our “honey hole” stand. It’s a good rut spot. Right in a wood edge between two bedding areas. We access it from the road across a big field. The bucks like to stay in the edge of the wood. With a north wind you can get in cleanly and the deer will never smell you if they are in the wood edge. The first morning I missed a doe at 12 yards. I was self filming, but I just flat out missed. I felt the jitters of being a brand new hunter again trying to film and shoot at the same time. That evening I was unable to get drawn on a doe due to me trying to get the camera correct. Being new to filming and having some issues I was ready to put the camera down for a moment.

The next evening is my last before heading home and what I knew was probably my last chance to hunt with my dad for the year. I left the camera in the truck and decided to just hunt…
This evening was a bit windy as well. I was in a hang on in the center of the property. This stand is tough to hunt when the wind is calm or light as your scent likes to float all over. A good wind will NW wind usually plays well for all directions besides one. I saw a few deer through out the evening. But eventually a big doe and fawn worked in. I couldn’t resist the doe and made a perfect quartering away shot on her. I went to text my dad but realized I had a message from him. A group of bucks had walked the field edge instead of the inside the woods and busted him right before he could get a shot off at the biggest one. He did say one of the deer was a certain six point we had gotten on camera often.

Ten minutes go by and the six pointer crosses in front of me. I text my dad letting him know and we both wonder if maybe the big buck is with him. 5 minutes later I hear something coming through very slowly. I see him at roughly 15 yards, the first opportunity he gives me is quartering away at roughly 15 yards. I make what I think is another perfect shot. He mule kicks what seems a mile high then takes off.

We decide to track the doe first and find her within 75 yards. The buck ran a similar direction but we go back to the shot to look for blood. I am on my hands and knees searching for half an hour and only found 2 specs within 10 yards of the shot. My arrow was covered in blood as well. I know I made a smoking shot but everything is telling me otherwise. My dad suggests maybe he ran the exact same trail as the doe and both of their blood is on that trail. I go back to the doe and begin dragging her out after I did not see any blood beyond where she died. At this point my dad had not been on the doe track yet. As he is walking towards me and the doe he stops and begins smelling the air. My old man SNIFFED my buck out! He was about 20 yards north of the does trail dead in tall set aside. I did make a great shot but am using a small heavy broadhead. The arrow exited right in front of the opposite shoulder so when he ran the hole was covered. Both deer didn’t go past 75 yards.

I had many firsts this season.

First beast style buck, first time I’ve shot two bucks in one year, and the first time I’ve shot two deer in one sit.
I couldn’t be happier with how my season turned out!

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