Well this year I spotted this guy a few weeks before the season and snuck a stand in close to his bedding area. I have gone in only when conditions are perfect and have had four different encounters with him and another nice buck (I even got some very poor video footage of them) already this year.
Last week I had him at six yards and just needed him to take five more steps into my shooting lane when some mud fell off my boots and hit the ground. It was just enough to make him jump back and take another route. I blew it. Still makes me sick. I seen him one time on the stand since then. Unfortunately when the field was harvested a few days ago I got this photo of him bugging out. It's not a very big woods but I'm hoping he'll be back and that this isn't the end of the story.
Not quite as big as the deer I harvested last year, but still a very nice buck for this area. I am guessing around the 150 mark.
