Snow is not the only thing falling!
- Thread starter aholdren
- Start date
Spencie
Senior Member
Thanks guys. It's been an eventful couple of days in the deer woods. He's not one of our top bucks but to be honest we don't have much to be excited about right now. That will change since I just burnt my tag....do whatever you have to for your kid right?
For those that have followed my trials and tribulations for the past decade plus know that I hold myself to a higher standard than most. This has created many recipes for tag soup. I have let bucks go that were much better than this one. But I have been struggling lately with how to hold myself to a higher standard but still have fun. In WV I have fun but I'm willing to shoot good deer...they don't have to be great. I have also switched to a crossbow this year due to shoulder issues. This alone has been stressful...it is a learning curve for a guy who has used a compound since 1982. A few days ago I noticed some unusual wear on the rail of the X and the string is suffering from it. So now I've got that on my mind. It's never easy for me.
We bought this property in 2019 from Amish. They were hard on the deer population. The herd was very small in numbers and there were not many older deer. We have not killed any does so far and the population has exploded. We also have a lot of deer starting to mature age-wise but not so much rack wise. There is definitely a wide but short tined genetic. We have been talking about what bucks to cull in January which could be almost any of them. There was only two over the summer/early fall that we considered shooters. Ocho a 6 year old 9 and Buster a 4/5 year old 10, the only one that would make 140. Both have been gone for over 6 weeks. It's hard waiting on a stranger but that's what it had come down to. We have had a couple come through that are close but they aren't consistent.
That brings us to this morning. Things really picked up yesterday and I just had a good feeling about today. That hasn't happened in a long time. Just as it got light I saw a small 8 cruising. Then a doe and 2 BBs fed through. Then I saw a 4 point shredding a sapling. He suddenly bolted and No Name walked up to the sapling and finished it off. He then bumped a doe my way and followed her splitting off as they went by. While this was going on a two year old 8 slipped in behind me watching the show and then disappeared up the hill. After that a spike bumped a doe up the hollow from me and No Name joined in. After they disappeared a doe and BB came trotting in and a 6 point came up out of the hollow. Then I see No Name running down the 4 wheeler trail with his tail up. Right behind him is a big bodied wide buck....ears laid back walking with intent. As No Name took flight the bigger buck turned downhill. Tyler is always telling me to leave the phone cam in my pocket and get ready to shoot something. Well I couldn't tell who this deer was and with 3 under me I decided I better get ready. Somehow I didn't get busted. When he came to a trail that comes through the thicket right to the stand he turned and took it. He then saw the 6 point 20 yards away from me, laid his ears back, hair bristling and turned sideways coming right at him. I'm now a little wound up seeing this. The 6 bounced and the 8 started to cross behind the stand. Crossbows are not friendly for shooting behind trees so I thought to myself "he's safe and that's cool. Suddenly, he does a 90 degree and stops at 7 yards broadside. I have always told Tyler that you can't make a good decision at full draw. The crossbow is already at that point. I'm looking at him through the scope with the green dot on him. The next thing I know the bolt has zipped through him and he is running away. He stops 40 yards away, looks down the hollow and falls over sideways. Then I started shaking! It's amazing the emotions that run through your body at that point. From elation, to relief, to what have I done? My season is over and it was just getting fun.
Like I said, I have killed better, passed better, but I will never forget this hunt. It doesn't get much better than 2.5 hours of non-stop rut action. He turns out to be a buck we named One Eye because he is blind in one eye. Yeah, I know, I shot a handicapped deer.
For those that have followed my trials and tribulations for the past decade plus know that I hold myself to a higher standard than most. This has created many recipes for tag soup. I have let bucks go that were much better than this one. But I have been struggling lately with how to hold myself to a higher standard but still have fun. In WV I have fun but I'm willing to shoot good deer...they don't have to be great. I have also switched to a crossbow this year due to shoulder issues. This alone has been stressful...it is a learning curve for a guy who has used a compound since 1982. A few days ago I noticed some unusual wear on the rail of the X and the string is suffering from it. So now I've got that on my mind. It's never easy for me.
We bought this property in 2019 from Amish. They were hard on the deer population. The herd was very small in numbers and there were not many older deer. We have not killed any does so far and the population has exploded. We also have a lot of deer starting to mature age-wise but not so much rack wise. There is definitely a wide but short tined genetic. We have been talking about what bucks to cull in January which could be almost any of them. There was only two over the summer/early fall that we considered shooters. Ocho a 6 year old 9 and Buster a 4/5 year old 10, the only one that would make 140. Both have been gone for over 6 weeks. It's hard waiting on a stranger but that's what it had come down to. We have had a couple come through that are close but they aren't consistent.
That brings us to this morning. Things really picked up yesterday and I just had a good feeling about today. That hasn't happened in a long time. Just as it got light I saw a small 8 cruising. Then a doe and 2 BBs fed through. Then I saw a 4 point shredding a sapling. He suddenly bolted and No Name walked up to the sapling and finished it off. He then bumped a doe my way and followed her splitting off as they went by. While this was going on a two year old 8 slipped in behind me watching the show and then disappeared up the hill. After that a spike bumped a doe up the hollow from me and No Name joined in. After they disappeared a doe and BB came trotting in and a 6 point came up out of the hollow. Then I see No Name running down the 4 wheeler trail with his tail up. Right behind him is a big bodied wide buck....ears laid back walking with intent. As No Name took flight the bigger buck turned downhill. Tyler is always telling me to leave the phone cam in my pocket and get ready to shoot something. Well I couldn't tell who this deer was and with 3 under me I decided I better get ready. Somehow I didn't get busted. When he came to a trail that comes through the thicket right to the stand he turned and took it. He then saw the 6 point 20 yards away from me, laid his ears back, hair bristling and turned sideways coming right at him. I'm now a little wound up seeing this. The 6 bounced and the 8 started to cross behind the stand. Crossbows are not friendly for shooting behind trees so I thought to myself "he's safe and that's cool. Suddenly, he does a 90 degree and stops at 7 yards broadside. I have always told Tyler that you can't make a good decision at full draw. The crossbow is already at that point. I'm looking at him through the scope with the green dot on him. The next thing I know the bolt has zipped through him and he is running away. He stops 40 yards away, looks down the hollow and falls over sideways. Then I started shaking! It's amazing the emotions that run through your body at that point. From elation, to relief, to what have I done? My season is over and it was just getting fun.
Like I said, I have killed better, passed better, but I will never forget this hunt. It doesn't get much better than 2.5 hours of non-stop rut action. He turns out to be a buck we named One Eye because he is blind in one eye. Yeah, I know, I shot a handicapped deer.
twireman
Senior Member
That is good stuff. Every deer I shoot. I have no idea what happened. The bolt just gets launched on its own
OO2
Well-Known Member
Bigcountry40
Member
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JARHEAD
Active Member
Real good write up!
So the truths out, he never saw you move due to being on his bad side????
Congratulations and thanks for letting me in on the fun!
So the truths out, he never saw you move due to being on his bad side????
Congratulations and thanks for letting me in on the fun!
Spencie
Senior Member
Well, I am the worst deer hunter in Ohio. I need help!
Spencie
Senior Member
A few trail cam pics. He wasn't here a lot.
Fullbore
Senior Member
Deersurgeon
Junior Member
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