Death of a Warrior
This summer I decided to venture back to college for a fellowship program at The Ohio State University, knowing full well that I would forfeit my one true passion in life for the upcoming fall. The decision was difficult but I had came to the conclusion in my mind that I would forgo this archery season. I had plans to take a few days off for muzzleloader season to quench some of the desire to be out enjoying the deer woods here in the hills of southern Ohio.
My father talked me into hunting a couple evenings before work from his ground blind during the month of October which was a much needed break from the daily routine I was bogged down into. I hunted four times for just a little over two hours each evening before heading into work. I had a great time as I seen a handful of smaller bucks, doe and yearlings.
Sunday, November 2nd rolls around; The pictures and stories of big bucks are beginning to hit social media. This is the time of year everyone waits for. I decide to head out for an evening hunt before driving back to Columbus.
As Dad and I drive out to our farm I mention to him, "I would really like to shoot that big ten tonight". The big ten was no stranger to us. He had been on our minds the past few years as a hit list buck. Lets flash back to the start of relationship as best I can describe.
Summer 2011- I gained permission to hunt a beautiful piece of ground around 60 acres. It had around 20 acres of field and 40 acres of mixed hardwoods and thickets. I threw a camera out and had some pictures of some nice bucks including this young buck.
Summer 2012- The mineral site established the year before begins getting hit by a number of deer and this old boy was back and getting bigger. He was going to be difficult to pass up if given the opportunity.
A great looking deer and would surely be on my hitlist for us that fall. I hunted the area as well as Dad to no avail. The following spring in a nearby field I stumbled across this particular set of sheds and recognized them immediately.
ATL SPRING 2013
Summer/Fall 2013 offered no sightings of the buck. After having a trail camera stolen, I wasnt feeling good about hunting that particular tract of land. I didnt have any photos of him on the neighboring cameras and I had all but decided he had moved on or was already dead.
Late winter I placed a camera over a food source to see what had survived the season. I noticed a few decent bucks and a large shed buck. The following week I picked these up in the same field I had found the 2012 sheds.
ATL SPRING 2014
I couldnt have been more excited to stumble onto these sheds and was pumped for the year to come.
This summer I decided to venture back to college for a fellowship program at The Ohio State University, knowing full well that I would forfeit my one true passion in life for the upcoming fall. The decision was difficult but I had came to the conclusion in my mind that I would forgo this archery season. I had plans to take a few days off for muzzleloader season to quench some of the desire to be out enjoying the deer woods here in the hills of southern Ohio.
My father talked me into hunting a couple evenings before work from his ground blind during the month of October which was a much needed break from the daily routine I was bogged down into. I hunted four times for just a little over two hours each evening before heading into work. I had a great time as I seen a handful of smaller bucks, doe and yearlings.
Sunday, November 2nd rolls around; The pictures and stories of big bucks are beginning to hit social media. This is the time of year everyone waits for. I decide to head out for an evening hunt before driving back to Columbus.
As Dad and I drive out to our farm I mention to him, "I would really like to shoot that big ten tonight". The big ten was no stranger to us. He had been on our minds the past few years as a hit list buck. Lets flash back to the start of relationship as best I can describe.
Summer 2011- I gained permission to hunt a beautiful piece of ground around 60 acres. It had around 20 acres of field and 40 acres of mixed hardwoods and thickets. I threw a camera out and had some pictures of some nice bucks including this young buck.
Summer 2012- The mineral site established the year before begins getting hit by a number of deer and this old boy was back and getting bigger. He was going to be difficult to pass up if given the opportunity.
A great looking deer and would surely be on my hitlist for us that fall. I hunted the area as well as Dad to no avail. The following spring in a nearby field I stumbled across this particular set of sheds and recognized them immediately.
ATL SPRING 2013
Summer/Fall 2013 offered no sightings of the buck. After having a trail camera stolen, I wasnt feeling good about hunting that particular tract of land. I didnt have any photos of him on the neighboring cameras and I had all but decided he had moved on or was already dead.
Late winter I placed a camera over a food source to see what had survived the season. I noticed a few decent bucks and a large shed buck. The following week I picked these up in the same field I had found the 2012 sheds.
ATL SPRING 2014
I couldnt have been more excited to stumble onto these sheds and was pumped for the year to come.
