Another near miss - Geez.

[Waddams]

Just complaining. I've managed to get eyes on a massive, mature buck on my hunting lease. Well away from any club stand, in an area that is right about perfect for where he'd be per THB lessons on scouting and finding big bucks. He was even right on about the top 1/3 elevation line, moving right along it.

So the story of the encounter is: I had decided to go to a new spot that was in between stands a good bit and on the map looked good. Planted pine ridge top, but not dense enough to block sunlight, so good cover from the ridge top down the slope, to a creek with a good hardwood buffer around it. Good browse, several oak trees dropping acorns, etc. It is also where I've identified two different age classes of trees by reviewing old Google Earth photos of past timber harvests. So we have - the cover, topography, environmental diversity, and the edges of different types of tree cover all coming together, and it's at an area that's about perfect for a buck to bed with prevailing winds at his back and see over the draw as it drops down to the creek.

I go in, and start seeing scrapes. It's about that time. Then find a cluster of scrapes - 3 big ones right within 20 ft of each other. Fresh hoof marks in them too. Okay, great. Back away about 50 yds, find a tree, and up I go, and here's the mistake - I went up on the same elevation as the scrapes. I faced the scrapes.

Right as dusk was starting to settle, I look over my right shoulder, and there's the biggest frigging buck I've ever seen in the wild. 10-12 points, huge head and ear spread, and a rack that's spanning well outside those ears. I'm in my Summit Viper with my rifle. I'm right handed, and I can't twist the way I need to get the rifle over on him. AND he's on a path that's gonna be 15-20 yards away because he's on the same elevation line as I am. He gets to 90 degrees off the direct front my stand is facing, stops, and looks up at me. I can't twist over, so I just sit still. He eventually turns around. He had been headed directly for those scrapes, but he goes back into the cover he came out of behind me.

I just didn't want to move to the extents I would have needed to reshoulder for a left handed shot, or figure out how to twist in the stand enough and get resettled for a stable shot. He didn't act alarmed, didn't run, etc. He might have even been able to smell the scrapes, and being satisfied, left to what ever was next on his agenda.

This was Saturday evening. I didn't want to go back and risk leaving too much scent for a Sunday morning sit before leaving (was worried he'd be getting into or already in his bed, not getting up to wander until evening again), so went to a different area of the lease instead and saw nothing.

So plan - get there take Friday off of work, get there Thursday night. Then make sure the wind is right and repeat the sit Friday night (after a Friday morning sit somewhere else), and see if I'm right in that his bed is close by, and on a similar wind he'll get up in the evening and come check those scrapes again. This time, be sitting facing down the slope, a little farther higher up, basically facing perpendicular to the observed direction of travel instead of parallel like I was.

The other club guys that were there didn't see much, according to them. I bumped a deer on the way in, and then after the buck left, saw another deer back behind me (I'd figured out my posture to reshoulder for a left handed, twisted to my right shot in case he came back so was watching. It's not doe days yet, and I probably wouldn't have shot that doe even if it was, not wanting to spook off that buck.)

He's the first big, mature buck I've actually managed to track down at all. After I got down, I found several rather tall rubs that were very, very fresh. I figure he's a frequent flyer in that area with the big fresh rubs and scrapes. I didn't move around too much, saw them once I was looking at a bigger area. Figured the smarter play would be to get out, not go back until same wind on an evening.

Just sort of frustrating, seems I've always made some little mistake in my setup. I guess each time is not completely wasted, I'm learning the hard way, but it's painfully slow! Maybe next time I'll be posting a pic of him.

[Ryan549]

If we killed our first time out, we’d never learn anything. Keep up the hard work

[Ryan549]

If we killed our first time out, we’d never learn anything. Keep up the hard work

[Rich M]

Those are the kinds of experiences that really teach us how to hunt. You'll never forget it, and hopefully will have another experience with him and everything will go as planned.

Your positives - you did well, found the buck and saw him at spitting distance. You know where he's hanging and have time to hopefully get him.

[Waddams]

Those are the kinds of experiences that really teach us how to hunt. You'll never forget it, and hopefully will have another experience with him and everything will go as planned.

Your positives - you did well, found the buck and saw him at spitting distance. You know where he's hanging and have time to hopefully get him.

Another positive - nobody else knows he's there. He's not on trail cam's guys have up, and the rest of them just go pick their preferred club stand. He probably knows where the stands are and exactly how skirt around them safely. The other club members don't do mobile / beast hunting. They mainly seem interested in gabbing around a fire in camp, shooting the odd deer that wanders by the stand, and otherwise just being there together. Honestly, it's a rather good group of guys, and a great camp environment. I'm really enjoying it overall to be honest with you. But unless it's the day or two of peak rut and he's lost his marbles chasing a hot doe, they other club guys are never gonna get a chance to set eyes on him.

I'm the only one mobile hunting with a climber. I actually have a two man ladder stand out there now, but it's sitting disassembled in camp still. I think I know where I want to go put it though. Will make a decent spot to get a doe or two to fill the freezer.