Well, we had an interesting hunt. We learned a lot of lessons and gained a lot of knowledge about our area in ways we never knew before.
We hunted hard all of the first week with only one mature buck sighting. My brother missed him at about 180-190 yards. He was a 150 class 10 point.
I hunted hard the first week on a property where a nice 10 point lived that I had video'ed last summer and seen once last season. He eluded me all of the first week and it wasn't until Thursday of the second week that I found him holed up with a doe on a small property I hadn't checked yet.
I had him at 174 yards but passed up the shot because I couldn't get a rest. I had him at 155 yards but passed it up because I couldn't get him to stop. I then had a 115 yard shot in a brutal blizzard but passed it up because I wasn't comfortable with the heavy snow and didn't want to risk losing him.
I went back the next morning but the air was so still and cold that the crunchy ground made it impossible to get to the stand quietly so we backed out and came back in the evening.
I brought my older brother along this time and since he had done most of the work in getting permission for this property, and because he hadn't killed a big buck since 2000, I let him have the first shot, but I told him that if he missed, I was letting go.
We set up really early and were shaking from the cold by the time he finally appeared. From 300 yds away we watched him with a doe. To make a really long story short, he finally made his way to 121 yards and stopped broadside. One shot high in the shoulder dropped him in his tracks.
It was a very exciting moment for both of us. This was my brothers biggest buck to date and the first time I had ever guided anyone to a big buck.
I was surprised how easy it was to let him shoot it instead of pulling the trigger myself.
I passed on a couple 130 class 8 pointers but still have a tag in my pocket for the bow season and the 1 week of muzzleloader in December.
These next two bucks were shot by my buddy and my dad. My dad's buck was killed Thursday night, by buddy's was killed Friday morning and my brother's Friday night. Can you tell me when the peak of the rut was?
And in the first week, my uncle put this poor thing out of his misery. Anyone have any ideas what happened here?
There is no evidence of being hit by a car nor being attacked by coyotes. The meat was gangrened and rotting right on his body.
And this is the poor miserable rack this thing carried.
We hunted hard all of the first week with only one mature buck sighting. My brother missed him at about 180-190 yards. He was a 150 class 10 point.
I hunted hard the first week on a property where a nice 10 point lived that I had video'ed last summer and seen once last season. He eluded me all of the first week and it wasn't until Thursday of the second week that I found him holed up with a doe on a small property I hadn't checked yet.
I had him at 174 yards but passed up the shot because I couldn't get a rest. I had him at 155 yards but passed it up because I couldn't get him to stop. I then had a 115 yard shot in a brutal blizzard but passed it up because I wasn't comfortable with the heavy snow and didn't want to risk losing him.
I went back the next morning but the air was so still and cold that the crunchy ground made it impossible to get to the stand quietly so we backed out and came back in the evening.
I brought my older brother along this time and since he had done most of the work in getting permission for this property, and because he hadn't killed a big buck since 2000, I let him have the first shot, but I told him that if he missed, I was letting go.
We set up really early and were shaking from the cold by the time he finally appeared. From 300 yds away we watched him with a doe. To make a really long story short, he finally made his way to 121 yards and stopped broadside. One shot high in the shoulder dropped him in his tracks.
It was a very exciting moment for both of us. This was my brothers biggest buck to date and the first time I had ever guided anyone to a big buck.
I was surprised how easy it was to let him shoot it instead of pulling the trigger myself.
I passed on a couple 130 class 8 pointers but still have a tag in my pocket for the bow season and the 1 week of muzzleloader in December.
These next two bucks were shot by my buddy and my dad. My dad's buck was killed Thursday night, by buddy's was killed Friday morning and my brother's Friday night. Can you tell me when the peak of the rut was?
And in the first week, my uncle put this poor thing out of his misery. Anyone have any ideas what happened here?
There is no evidence of being hit by a car nor being attacked by coyotes. The meat was gangrened and rotting right on his body.
And this is the poor miserable rack this thing carried.
