I'll do my best to make this short, but don't count on it. Yesterday was a day I've dreamed about for over three years.
It all started over a Trophy Rock that I placed a camera over on my property in May of 2011. It had only been out a week or so and I pulled the card to see if anything would bother with the TR. On that first pull I had a buck with what looked to be a pretty good start to a rack. My wife noticed he had a split in his left ear. As we watched him grow that summer he developed a split brow and I named him Splitter. By September he had blossomed into a nice 12 point, but had spindly antlers. He was still the best buck I had on camera that summer and was my target for the 2011 season. In July I had moved my outhouse to near my TR mineral site, not knowing that minerals don't attract deer during the fall and winter. Lesson one had been learned. I hunted the stand all season and never saw Splitter.
The spring of 2012 rolls around and sure enough he shows up at the TR. In April or May I decide new tactics need to be tried in the fall. I decided to abandon my outhouse to hunt from a one man chair blind. Now let me tell you, this is not comfortable hunting. I sat up the blind in August about 60 yards due west of my outhouse. I choose this spot because every year there is a distinct rub line going north and south. I was able to access it fairly easily and stay somewhat undetected. Splitter had blossomed into a heavier 12 point that year. I hunted him hard and never saw him.
In the spring of 2013, I had a new plan, the barricade. I moved my TR in the area of the rub line. I then moved my outhouse stand to within 20 yards of the rub line. Then my buddy and I made a 60 yard long barricade from trees that had fallen the year before. We placed the barricade about 30 yards in front of my stand trying to force the deer to funnel in front of me in shooting range. By fall Splitter was a beautiful buck that sported 15 scorable points. The barricade worked for some does and a couple smaller bucks. But, Splitter was having none of it. Lesson two, you can't make them go where you want them to.
By the end of the 2013 season, after having thousands of photos and never seeing this deer I thought of Jesse. I remember Tank and Captian Jack, he called them ghost deer and I figured out that I was hunting one of those ghosts. Even realizing I may be in for another disappointment I knew if he showed up next spring I'd be hunting him again the 2014 season.
To be continued..
It all started over a Trophy Rock that I placed a camera over on my property in May of 2011. It had only been out a week or so and I pulled the card to see if anything would bother with the TR. On that first pull I had a buck with what looked to be a pretty good start to a rack. My wife noticed he had a split in his left ear. As we watched him grow that summer he developed a split brow and I named him Splitter. By September he had blossomed into a nice 12 point, but had spindly antlers. He was still the best buck I had on camera that summer and was my target for the 2011 season. In July I had moved my outhouse to near my TR mineral site, not knowing that minerals don't attract deer during the fall and winter. Lesson one had been learned. I hunted the stand all season and never saw Splitter.
The spring of 2012 rolls around and sure enough he shows up at the TR. In April or May I decide new tactics need to be tried in the fall. I decided to abandon my outhouse to hunt from a one man chair blind. Now let me tell you, this is not comfortable hunting. I sat up the blind in August about 60 yards due west of my outhouse. I choose this spot because every year there is a distinct rub line going north and south. I was able to access it fairly easily and stay somewhat undetected. Splitter had blossomed into a heavier 12 point that year. I hunted him hard and never saw him.
In the spring of 2013, I had a new plan, the barricade. I moved my TR in the area of the rub line. I then moved my outhouse stand to within 20 yards of the rub line. Then my buddy and I made a 60 yard long barricade from trees that had fallen the year before. We placed the barricade about 30 yards in front of my stand trying to force the deer to funnel in front of me in shooting range. By fall Splitter was a beautiful buck that sported 15 scorable points. The barricade worked for some does and a couple smaller bucks. But, Splitter was having none of it. Lesson two, you can't make them go where you want them to.
By the end of the 2013 season, after having thousands of photos and never seeing this deer I thought of Jesse. I remember Tank and Captian Jack, he called them ghost deer and I figured out that I was hunting one of those ghosts. Even realizing I may be in for another disappointment I knew if he showed up next spring I'd be hunting him again the 2014 season.
To be continued..
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