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1023's 2021 Season Journal

Redhunter1012

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Buried up to the fletchings a out 10 yards past the deer after breaking one rib on entrance and it could be used again with a little sharpening. Still a single use head IMO, but that's fine by me if it does its job that one time.
Appreciate the feedback. If it can be used again, that's a bonus. Was just curious on the stability and toughness of it after busting some ribs.
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Well, for the downer news. The Funky Fork is dead.

I woke up to a text yesterday from my best friend asking "can the funky buck go down?" before I could respond "yes" given he's never killed a buck in Ohio and he's put in his time out there, so he deserves to tag a good one on our farm, I got a follow up text saying "well sorry, I did it". 😂

Come to find out, he was wounded and suffering pretty good. I passed this buck hoping we'd find out what next year would bring and I knew he was in trouble on the farm to the north. Even though the previous lessees of that farm killed 3 target bucks in 3 years there, they didn't gun hunt and made good management decisions. They let their lease lapse and some new folks have moved in and they appear to love gun season. They also take some questionable shot. This shot entered the front of the leg, exited, and skimmed up his side. For that to happen, they had to have taken a head on, uphill shot at him.

I liked this buck and looked forward to building the story a little more. I'm thankful we're not hunting a ghost and that someone I know ended his misery. Wasn't how it was scripted, but it seems 97 out of 100, aren't.

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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
He's a WV guy, born and raised, so he wasn't well suited for Ohio gun hunting when we first met back in 2007. He'd been using his flintlock to hunt here and just this week, picked up a Winchester in 350 Legend. We sighted it in Saturday at my place and I was impressed. Definitely a nice little gun.

Here's a dose of irony. Back in 2011 or 2012, he had a FUBAR after being a full draw for a couple minutes on Captain Jack, ultimately launching an arrow that skimmed the back of his front, right leg. He killed this buck within 50 yards of where that encounter happened.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
I'm glad to see he didn't wait for your reply. Says a lot about the man. Congratulations to him! He's a fine trophy and this guy respected him enough to not let him limp on by. He put his trust in your friendship and respect in that deer.
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Merry Christmas to the hunters in this house. I was in between building one and buying a Redneck 360 Soft Side when the Black Friday deal made the decision for me. I'll put this on a short platform during the off-season, but it's headed out back as soon as I can find the time to do so. We needed some more space and something that held the heat in, so this should do us well. I'm already thinking about getting a second one for the farm and dedicating my 4x8 trailer to hauling it around. Assembly was a breeze and the blind fabric is some heavy-duty stuff!

I'll snap some more pics once it's in it's temporary home.

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"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,741
274
North Carolina
Merry Christmas to the hunters in this house. I was in between building one and buying a Redneck 360 Soft Side when the Black Friday deal made the decision for me. I'll put this on a short platform during the off-season, but it's headed out back as soon as I can find the time to do so. We needed some more space and something that held the heat in, so this should do us well. I'm already thinking about getting a second one for the farm and dedicating my 4x8 trailer to hauling it around. Assembly was a breeze and the blind fabric is some heavy-duty stuff!

I'll snap some more pics once it's in it's temporary home.

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Got a link for them, Jesse?
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia

I like the grilled version better, but no enough to spend the extra $. This thing is stout once assembled. I can remove the cover in the off season and it should last plenty long enough to deliver a good ROI.
 
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Creamer

Active Member
1,584
81
Athens

I like the grilled version better, but no enough to spend the extra $. This thing is stout once assembled. I can remove the cover in the off season and it should last plenty long enough to deliver a good ROI.

So are the windows like a shoot-thru mesh when you unzipper them? I hunted for the first time this season (last three hunts) from a friend's hard-sided Redneck Blind. With the hard side blind and the windows closed, it definitely was great for minimizing scent. We were having a lot of deer approach (seasoned old does mostly) from a low spot below us, walking with their nose into the dropping thermals. We weren't getting busted, but we did have a hard time getting the windows open when it was go time. Yea, they were quiet to open, but with deer really close we had issues. Twice deer spooked like they caught the movement of the shooting window opening. They didn't spook hard, just got nervous and bounced out of the shooting lane. We felt like we had to wait until deer were above us to open them because while they were below we'd probably get winded. I appreciated the pros but the con of not having a shoot-thru window (or just being able to leave it open) took away my ability to act immediately when the shot presented itself. The idea of a soft-sided blind with shoot thru windows would be a better fit for me. It's probably a lot less of a big deal for compound hunters that don't need deer so close for shot opportunities.