The "Curse" had been lifted.

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TN Whitetail Freak
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The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby TN Whitetail Freak » Sat May 04, 2019 3:53 am

The story of what I hope is a turning point in my hunting.

"When it comes to whitetails and Killing good public land deer, I would not be the guy that comes to mind. However, I would place my ability to get on big public land bucks with anyone. The last four years has been about close calls and hard lessons learned. During that stretch I went roughly 1070 days without even letting an arrow fly at ANY deer. Some of it was self induced because of my selective hunting because I had opportunities at some respective public land deer. Though I ate tag soup, I consider those four years the best hunting due to the number of giant TN deer I encountered and placed myself in front of. Four years of tag soup is nearly torture for a serious deer freak like myself. That all changed December 15, 2018.
I decided to take my rifle for the first time since 2011. That morning I spoke to another hunter whom had just left an area I discovered giant sized rubs three days prior. He made mention he was going back in there that evening. I told him if he went in there with the NNW wind, he'd be done before he started. He was pretty set on hunting that sign with the bad wind.
Taking that information in mind, I developed a plan to use his entrance as an advantage. I drove home and grabbed my waders because I had no choice but to cross a good bit if Mississippi flood water to get downwind of the known bedding area. I entered the woods around 2:00 p.m. and started my hike back. When I arrived at the water, the recent rain had it higher than my waders could take and I sank my waders. Pissed and determined I decided to proceed with the plan full waders and all. I arrived at my spot around 3:20 p.m. I began preparing my saddle and emptying my waders at a spot where I found a rub line leading to a beanfield. During my setup, I made the decision to abandon getting elevated with my saddle setup and I sat the ground due to time. The decision turned out to be the right one because 10 minutes later a giant buck appeared in the swamp. He was walking to me with the wind at his back. My planned had worked and the other hunter I'm sure wind bumped the buck and he was now headed directly at me north to south. I watched for 45 minutes as he fed on water oak acorns doing big buck . Several times the past four years curse had entered my mind and I almost rushed the shot for fear something bad was going to happen to prevent me from killing the mature buck once again. I overcame that urge and stuck with patience; talking my way through it. The buck fed to 40 yds, (bow range, go figure, when I decide to take the rifle for the first time in 7 years. I couldn't hold off any longer. I let the 30.06 ring and the buck nose dived in front of me! FINALLY!
The curse had been lifted. Though he was a great 5.5+yr old buck, it's the grind and adventure that made this hunt so awesome. The buck ended up having 24" beams and roughly 23" wide inside. To top it off he was a surprise buck and was not the buck I was after i got on trail cam. Unfortunately that deer was shot 3 days later by another hunter and was my #1 hitlister. This buck was the 11th shooter i had encountered this season and 2018 would come to be my best season hunting. Once others discovered I had killed the deer I began getting trail cam images from multiple guys that knew of the deer and others who mentioned they had arrowed the brute in previous years but never killed him. Elements to the success:
Hunt the wind
Talk with other hunters
Choose to grind harder and embrace the suck
Hunt hot sign and your MRI.

The trail cam image attached is 2016 on left and 2018 on right with antler characteristics highlighted.



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Edcyclopedia
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Sat May 04, 2019 4:59 am

Hunt the wind - INDEED
Talk with other hunters
Choose to grind harder and embrace the suck - LOL, but true, if not frustration overbears you
Hunt hot sign and your MRI. - Big Believer!!!

Nice write up! :dance:
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
Jdw
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby Jdw » Sat May 04, 2019 5:28 am

Cool story and great buck. Congratulations.
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Acer18
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby Acer18 » Sat May 04, 2019 6:14 am

Nice job and great write up!
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greenhorndave
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby greenhorndave » Sat May 04, 2019 6:48 am

Heckuva buck and an awesome story. You out-thunk several critters to succeed. ;)
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby BackCoverBowHunter » Sat May 04, 2019 7:00 am

Great read and congrats, that is a of an accomplishment.
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mike_mc
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby mike_mc » Sat May 04, 2019 7:28 am

Great buck!
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Jackson Marsh
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat May 04, 2019 7:37 am

He's a slammer!

Great job on a great buck. :clap: :clap: :clap:

Was he worth the wait :D
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TN Whitetail Freak
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby TN Whitetail Freak » Sat May 04, 2019 8:15 am

Jackson Marsh wrote:He's a slammer!
Was he worth the wait :D



Worth the wait um most definitely but I'd rather no go through another spell like this one. Was a sad part of my life having my freezer empty of venison.
Tennhunter3
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Sat May 04, 2019 9:52 am

:clap:
Never give up Freedom for imagined safety.
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john1984
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby john1984 » Sat May 04, 2019 10:16 am

Gr8 buck :clap:
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Hawthorne
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby Hawthorne » Sat May 04, 2019 10:43 am

Great story great buck! Good job using the other hunter to your advantage
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llcooljames
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby llcooljames » Sat May 04, 2019 11:09 am

Dandy buck. Smart thinking on your access.
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Grizzlyadam
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby Grizzlyadam » Sat May 04, 2019 11:20 am

Awesome buck! You played your cards right and earned him, glad it finally came together for you.
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Re: The "Curse" had been lifted.

Unread postby HunterBob » Sat May 04, 2019 1:40 pm

Nice! That is one awesome way to break the curse!


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